For the first time since 2017, the FIS Freeride World Tour (FWT) presented by Peak Performance concluded its 2026 season with a spectacular final on the legendary Bec des Rosses at the 31st edition of the FWT Xtreme Verbier, one of the most demanding and iconic freeride faces in the world. Steep and technical, the venue has helped define the sport since 1996, when the first Xtreme Verbier was held on its slopes.
Excellent conditions blessed the slope as 20 inches of fresh snow had fallen in the days leading up to the event. In Snowboard Women, Mia Jones (USA) completed an exceptional debut season, taking both the event win and the overall title. Victor de Le Rue (FRA) secured a record-breaking fifth FWT Champion title, continuing to push the boundaries of freeride snowboarding. Switzerland’s Liam Rivera thrilled the home crowd with a long-awaited victory in the Xtreme Verbier competition, posting the highest score ever recorded in Snowboard Men competition. In Ski Men, Ben Richards (NZL) capped off a dominant season with the Xtreme Verbier and overall FWT Champion wins.
U.S. athletes Toby Rafford (USA) and Ross Tester (USA) took second and third respectively in the overall FWT Rankings for Ski Men behind Richards and Rafford scored a close second in the Xtreme Verbier with another exciting run. Ski Women rookie, Lou Barin (FRA), claimed a double victory winning the Xtreme Verbier and overall FWT Champion rankings.
Mia Jones (USA) was the only rider in the Snowboard Women category to go from Start Three. She went full force, straight into an air, powder turns through the technical terrain, and then landed another drop while showing significant fluidity, line choice, and control. Jones is the winner of the 2026 Xtreme Verbier, the overall season title, the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships, and Women Rookie of the Year.
A show-stopping finish to a season of wins, Jones will head back to New Hampshire to resume engineering classes at Dartmouth College on Monday. “It’s such an incredible feeling. I honestly am so grateful to be here. The snow was so good. We literally could not have asked for better conditions, and I’m really happy my run worked out the way it did, and I was able to keep it on my feet. I try and go into every competition and think about the fact that we’re here, and we’re riding these incredible faces, and we have the best conditions, the best light, and the best mountains, and just focusing on that. Then the rest kind of doesn’t matter because we’re all out here, and we’re all having fun. The Bec is the steepest venue of all time, but we could not have had better conditions. I’m stoked that I was able to hold on through to the last competition,” said Mia Jones. Her father, legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, won the Xtreme Verbier in 2005 (the year she was born), and now she has done the same, 21 years later. “Well, I mean, to hear it [said back to me] makes me emotional.
It’s unimaginable, really. I mean, if you told me in 2005 that would happen, I wouldn’t believe you. You know, even at the start of this year. So I’m incredibly proud; we are so proud,” shared Jeremy Jones after watching his daughter win both the Xtreme Verbier and the 2026 FWT World Title.