MADRID, 22 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The ‘rider’ Núria Castán could not be crowned this Friday historic world champion of the Freeride modality, off-piste skiing, by finishing second in the last test of the Freeride World Tour held in Verbier (Switzerland), which gave her a brilliant runner-up finish that makes her the first Spanish athlete, both man and woman, to achieve this distinction.
The Catalan won the silver medal in the FWT after a campaign where she achieved victories in the inaugural event in Verbier and in Georgia, and in which she climbed to four of the five possible podiums, and with a bad taste in her mouth that left her the appointment in Canada where she was forced to compete without her equipment due to the loss of her suitcases.
Her good results made her reach the finals of the circuit as first classified, although with a small advantage over her rivals, which she finally could not defend against the Canadian Erin Sauve, who was proclaimed world champion thanks to her victory in the final event. again in Verbier.
The North American performed at a high level and added a score of 89 points that forced Castán, who came last, to put in a great performance. The Spaniard, as indicated by her communication department, performed a very fluid line with many jumps, but, with 81.67 points, she was unable to beat her rival.
The 26-year-old from Reus has taken a great competitive leap in this 2024 season, after a 2023 where she suffered a great scare precisely in Verbier where she almost lost her life after an avalanche that left her buried for more than ten minutes under the snow.
“I am very happy with my runner-up finish. Obviously I would have liked to win the title, but I have done everything in my power. Having reached the finals is already a success for me and having been able to finish runner-up after what happened last year “The past is a great milestone of personal improvement for myself. Next year I will do more,” celebrated Núria Castán.
For his part, the president of the Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation (RFEDI), May Peus, congratulated the ‘rider’ and recalled the federation’s commitment to this modality. “We are very satisfied to have trusted in the great potential of ‘freeride’ to promote winter sports and their connection with young people and nature. Therefore, we chose to integrate these athletes regardless of having institutional support,” she stressed.