Aurélien Ducroz, a French freerider sponsored by The North Face®, claimed the bronze in the Freeride World Tour, which concluded this past weekend at the Verbier Xtreme in Verbier, Switzerland.

An impassioned and aggressive skier, Ducroz dominated throughout the Tour, claiming third place at the Freeride de Tignes on 8 – 10 March, and second place at the Big Mountain Pro, held 24 February – 2 March. Placement for the overall awards was based on a riders top four of five total finishes.

On 14 – 16 March on the west face of Mont Gelé in the heart of Verbier, the planet’s 37 best freeriders demonstrated the ultimate performance of the sport in fast, fluid, dangerous lines. While this year marked the 13th annual Verbier Xtreme, the roving Freeride World Tour was new. The premiere Freeride World Tour was comprised of five competition events for male and female skiers and snowboarders across North America, Eastern and Western Europe. The North Face® acted as title sponsor for three of the events.

A native of France’s Chamonix Valley, the 25-year old Aurélien burst suddenly into the international freeskiing scene only four years ago, quickly rising to become one of the world’s most formidable competitors. Recent top finishes include first place at the 2006 Engadinsnow Freeride Contest in St. Moritz, Switzerland and first place at the 2006 Verbier Xtreme. And now, he can call himself one of the top three freeskiers on the globe.

Watch Aurélien's video!