Snowboarder Xavier de le Rue wins Nissan Tram Face

Nissan athletes Xavier de Le Rue (FRA) and Aurelien Ducroz (FRA) yesterday dominated the Nissan Tram Face, the penultimate stop of the 2010 Freeride World Tour. De Le Rue and Ducroz took first and second place in the men’s snowboard and ski contests respectively, putting on an amazing show for spectators gathered in Squaw Valley, USA.

The Nissan Tram Face was the third of four contests which constitute the 2010 Freeride World Tour. With two first place finishes to date, Xavier de Le Rue, 2009 Champion, currently leads the men’s snowboarding rankings, with one event remaining. Freeriding is a form of extreme skiing and snowboarding, in which contestants ski some of the most dangerous, untouched sheer mountain faces in the world.

Xavier de Le Rue, Nissan team athlete commented: “It was a pleasant surprise to ride the Silverado face in Squaw Valley. At one point, I landed near a rock and in switch so I had to turn again on the next jump, but it was all good in the end. Today was a truly spectacular show.”

Aurelien Ducroz, Nissan team athlete commented: “I am really happy with what I did in the Nissan Tram Face competition. After having two bad runs in the previous events I had two good runs so I finally got back into it. I am here. It feels so good to be back on the podium.”

Jean-Pierre Diernaz, General Manager of Nissan’s Marketing Communications in Europe said, “With the Olympics having just finishing in Canada there has never been more attention for the sport of freeriding, which like the new events in the Olympics is instantly engaging and exciting. It is great to see two of the Nissan Athlete team doing so well at the Nissan Tram Face, and we now look forward to the season finale in Verbier in March.”

The final contest of the 2010 Nissan World Freeride Tour, the Nissan Xtreme by Swatch, will take place in Verbier, Switzerland on Saturday 20th March. The Nissan Xtreme, celebrating its 15th anniversary is the toughest challenge in professional freeriding and presents an exhilarating challenge for the riders before the 2010 champions are crowned. Nissan athletes Xavier de Le Rue (FRA), Aurelien Ducroz (FRA), Cyril Neri (SWZ), Eric Themel (AUS), Geraldine Fasnacht (SWZ) and Marja Persson (NOR) will be competing on the north face of the Bec des Rosses in the fight to become 2010 Freeride World Tour Champions.