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The Race
This year’s Speed Flyer of the Year is French speed rider Antoine Montant who snatched the title having won the two contests: Speed Cross (Parallel Slalom) and Freeride for the title.
We witnessed a first in Arcs 2000 on 5th February, under a perfect blue sky: the first Speed Cross, a Parallel Slalom contest for speed riders [skiers who ski with a small wing above their head]. French speed rider Antoine Montant crossed the finish line ahead of Swiss Gaël Amann by a few hundredths of a second, the French speed rider David Eyraud was third.
After the time trials, eight riders qualified for the final rounds out of 25. In each duel, the competitors ride twice, once in the blue slalom and once in the red slalom to even out the time difference. They have to touch the snow inside a ten metre zone around each gate (or they get a five second penalty).
The Génépi-Varet, an even and wide slope ideal for today's contest, is still in the shade and the wind is slightly capricious when the riders start the qualification rounds in 20 cm of fresh powder. One after another, they test their precision and measure their speed against the clock. The way to do it is to "fly low on the ground and just straighten your legs to touch the zone around the gates. You have to fine-tune the angle of your wing to follow the angle of the slope. If you fly too much, it's hard to come back to touch at the gates. If you stay on the snow, you are too slow", explains François Bon, co-organiser and competitor.
 The sun goes down gently on the Aiguille Rouge to light the final runs. Times are very close, a hair width at the finish line. Romain Raisson, who designed the speed cross, is reassured: the two slaloms are of the same length, "we wanted to avoid the situation where one slalom is quicker than the other at all costs". The two finalists, Gaël Ammann and Antoine Montant are fighting for fractions of a second, looking for the best trajectories, bringing their wing as close as possible to the snow during their turns.
"The slalom was both technical and quick. What made a difference was the speed of my wing", explains Antoine Montant. This new type of event was a success for the organisers who have been working on it for over a year. "We wanted to bring something new, a contest inspired by skicross, visually arresting and public friendly. And the riders loved it!" says Dino Raffault, the organiser.
Thursday 7th of February, all the riders gathered at the top of Aiguille Rouge for the impressive freeride contest, won by a classy Antoine Montant. He also becomes the Speed Flyer of the Year, the best rider in both disciplines: the speed cross (timed) and the freeride (judged).
The freeride contest unfolded on the Arandelières slope in Arc 2000. Each competitor had a check run before the race, and a single run on which to be judged by the competitors themselves. The judging criteria were: choice of the line, fluidity of the run and technical ability. The riding zone featured couloirs and cliffs (in a quick first section) and wide fields of powder (in the second section).
"After a timed race on Tuesday (the Speed Cross), we wanted a judged contest to show all the facets of the Speed Flying. Today I really enjoyed the riders who really skied the snow, who could take advantage of the terrain, find the hidden snow pockets and who can do the show because this is the future of the sport", says Dino Raffault, the organiser.
The check run, troubled by a north wind shaking the wings, is the opportunity to adjust the speed in the main couloir, to look for unexpected lines, to choose the best time to exit the couloir on the
right hand side, high enough to be able to draw wide turns on the powder fields and, finally, spot the ideal entrance to ski the last small cliff.
Gaël Ammann touched a rock and almost destroyed one of his skis in the couloir, his verdict is: "It's booby-trapped with rocks, I thought there was more snow". The Austrian rider, Mathias Roten, stays on the right hand of the couloir to spot a small strip of snow, an ideal exit door from the couloir. François Bon, as usual, smiles as he folds his wing: "It was a discovery run, no pressure. There are a lot of opportunities to play around. The winner will be the one keeping to the ground whilst still retaining harmony".
The real start of the contest is Romain Raisson's run, he's the forerunner and delivers a fluid run where he keeps his skis in the snow almost constantly. The choices of lines are varied and, as the Speed Flyers ride past, the level increases, the runs are less aerial and more skied. Frank Coupat, director of the Speed Riding School in Valfréjus, has a wide smile as he comments on his run: "I fought all the way to stay in the snow and I succeeded!"
Yoan Castagnoli upped the ante with a playful run, with freestyle tricks and plenty of energy... but fell early in the couloir. That's the kind of run that would have probably landed him on the podium. François Bon is not convinced by his performance, "The wind shook me at the bottom of the couloir, and I did not what I wanted". Vincent Reffet and David Eyraud both manage a daring manoeuvre: to fly between two huge rocks, where "there wasn't much room for the wing..." says David. Gaël Ammann is disappointed, "I flew too much, I had a hard time managing the speed".
 It is now Antoine Montant's turn, the last competitor. The others are following him, sitting in the snow, commenting on Antoine's run with cheers and applause at every turn. Quick at the start, with surprising speed, bold and creative trajectories, Antoine's run has a taste of victory as soon as he crosses the finish line with his arms raised in a show of happiness. "I abandoned the line I originally planned because it was too dangerous, so I opted for a more straightforward option. My aim was to ski the snow as much as possible", he comments, still out of breath.
After the screening of all the runs, the competitors handed down their notes and the winner was crowned at Chez Luigi bar in Arc 1950. Antoine Montant, loudly cheered by his fellow competitors, is the Speed Flyer of the Year and nobody could have denied it!
World’s meeting for the discipline
The world of Speed Flying is in Les Arcs
The best Speed Flyers in the world now gather every year at the Columbia Speed Flying Pro Les Arcs, an event that manages to make sense of an elitist sport for the general public.
They were 25 speed flyers, the best in their sport, selected by the organisers for their qualities both as skiers and pilots. Among them the biggest names: Antoine Montant of course, but also the Swiss Gaël Ammann who closely followed Antoine in the speed cross contest, the Austrian Mathias Roten, impressive in the freeride contest, the Spanish paragliding world champion Felix Rodriguez, the combative David Eyraud from France or the American Carson Klein.
If the discipline was created in Valfréjus, it is in Les Arcs, with François Bon, a pionneer, that the most famous event of Speed Flying was born in 2007 to fuel the growing energy of this new sport.
For its second edition, the Speed Flying Pro has become a reference point for the level of riders it attracts, the competing, the innovative contests and the media attention it attracts. "We have the best international guest list, credibility and, more importantly, positive feedback from the riders", explains Dino Raffault, the organiser.
“Speed Flying gathered even more momentum during this 2008 edition. This contest is a unique occasion for everybody to meet, chat, discuss: the gear improves as a result. With two contests, one timed, the other judged, we are showed all the facets of the sport. One could feel that new avenues were opening up for Speed Flying, in the form of freestyle, with riders skiing switch, with more and more tricks. We could see the outlines of the future of Speed Flying," says Dino.
Speed Cross was a technical show, a breathtaking duel. The freeride contest let the riders roam the mountain freely and express themselves. They could showcase their skills as pilots and their creativity in their choice of line. Even a beginner couldn't help being impressed by this high speed ballet around cliffs. "It is a media-friendly sport, it's very strong visually. Nowadays, we are surrounded by a profusion of images, so Columbia, as a brand, aim at producing quality images, original movies and Speed Flying is an ideal sport that uses the mountain in an innovative way", comments Romain Cancilleri-Michy, communication manager for Columbia, the event's main sponsor. "Most of the public will think: "it looks simple". This is the paradox of this sport, how an elite manages to relate to its general audience". This is the real success of this event: promoting the essence of the sport to the widest audience without betraying it.
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