Wānaka’s Ben Richards (24) won the Freeride World Tour Fieberbrunn Pro stop in Austria overnight (March 14).

The 2024 Tour is Ben’s rookie season and his success in Fieberbrunn marks his first Freeride World Tour (FWT) podium and win.

“Winning here in Fieberbrunn for the first of the two FWT Finals means a lot to me,” Ben said.

“To win in this competitive category was beyond my imagination. I'm so happy about it.”

The competition took place on the well-known Wildseeloder, a face that gained its reputation due to its steepness (up to 50 degrees), long vertical drop, and seemingly endless selection of gnarly lines. 

Ben Richards in action on the Wildseeloder face in Fieberbrunn. PHOTO: Dom Daher / Freeride World Tour

The Fieberbrunn Pro competition is a two run format, with only the athletes best run score counting. 

After coming unstuck on a cliff feature in his first run Ben returned to the top of the venue, re-focused and put down the run of his life. 

His run was full of serious airtime, most notably a 360 on top of the ever-impressive Häusl Cliff in his second attempt of the day. 

He was rewarded with a score of 97.00 (out of 100.00) leap frogging him into the top spot where he remained untouchable for the remainder of the event.

Fellow Wānaka skier Finn Bilous (24) finished in fifth position. 

Current ranking leader Max Hitzig (GER) finished in second place with a clean run. Marcus Goguen (CAN) was third.

With just one final stop of the 2024 Freeride World Tour left to come at the Verbier Xtreme next weekend, Ben is currently ranked third overall and Finn fifth.