Victor de Le Rue is a fun dude to watch ride snow. First, he’s about as smooth as they come. Second, while his brotha Xavier (also a Freeride World Tour Champion) trends more towards the mountaineering tilt, Victor can do it all: put crampons on the boots and slide ice axes between his palms on the approach, or just shred a big line like it’s his own personal terrain park. And the two-time FWT champ laid down a beautiful line this week in Georgia on his way to winning the comp.
Personal side note: I love rooting for Victor cause he’s a good chap. We had beers after a FWT event in a rowdy Golden, B.C. establishment following the Kicking Horse event. He’s as humble as they come.
Georgia, the mountainous country north of Turkey, acts as a gateway between Europe and Asia. And as you can see, the conditions there this week were out of this world with some light, dry pow for competition day. Victor took advantage, doubling up on two terrain features to start his run, followed by back and frontside threes. Then he just buttered his way to the finish. And all this after some serious travel hassles.
“What a fun comp yesterday… epic snow, great venue,” he wrote on Instagram. “So happy to discover a new place and country, people are so welcoming here! I received my bags two hours before heading to the comp, (so it) was a bit of a roller coaster in my brain. I got to open the contest, first rider to drop but this time was quite a privilege actually in those great conditions. Had a lot of fun doing my run and it put me in first. Pretty stoked on winning 3/3 comps so far.
That’s right, Victor is running away with this year’s tour (Americans Jonathan Penfield, Holden Samuels, and Michale Mawn are trying to chase him down). But three event wins has Victor well atop the rankings and on his way to a third FWT title.
This guy needs an invite to the Natural Selection Tour.
