Ben Richards (Wānaka, 25) has finished in third place at the Kicking Horse stop of the 2025 Freeride World Tour in British Columbia, Canada this morning.
Richards was thrilled to claim his second podium finish of the season, saying; “It was amazing, I love Canada and being in BC and I have a lot of friends around here so I am pumped. It was a stressful wait but I couldn’t be more stoked to land on the podium.”
As one of the first riders to drop into the venue in the men’s ski category, Richards had a long and nervous wait to see if his score of 87.67, which put him in provisional second place after his run, would hold up for a podium finish.
Richards opted for a unique line on today’s venue, the Ozone Face. He dropped into the face from the skiers far right after making his way around the ridge. He immediately put his foot on the gas, throwing a stylish 360 over the cliff band at the top before stomping a huge, lofty front flip off the final feature at the bottom of his run.
Coming into today’s event off a eighth place finish in Val Thorens just over a week ago, Richards was looking to change his approach in the hunt for the podium, explaining; “I have put two runs to my feet [at the first two stops] and I wanted to do something different, change it up a little and maybe surprise some people, it was a lot of fun!”
Marcus Goguen of Canada was the only athlete who challenged Richards, posting a huge score of 96.67 with an impressive run in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Goguen’s run bumped Spanish skier Abel Moga into second and Richards subsequently into third.
This marks Richards’ second podium from three events on the 2025 Freeride World Tour and has him sitting in third place on the overall rankings, with two events to go before the cut to the finals in Verbier, Switzerland at the end of March.
The next stop on the Tour will be in Georgia, with the weather window set to start on the 23rd of February.
14 days ago