00:00She is an extreme Verbier champion, had the year off last year due to injury, and after Spain, where she finished in sixth, she said it actually felt easy.
00:10She wasn't sure how the recovery was, but she said it felt great, and she can really get after it now.
00:15So looking forward to seeing the return of a full-form Sibylle Blanchant.
00:21Exactly. This is a rider that loves to charge fast and confident.
00:26We'll see her moving into this far skier's left section of the venue.
00:31Yeah, we saw a bunch of the ski men in here, and Sibylle Blanchant taking it on as well.
00:36A few tracks, a big air above exposure, popping off with a turn.
00:41Sibylle Blanchant now navigating her way to this mandatory exit air.
00:47Landing clean.
00:48Perfect landing. You know, it's so interesting.
00:50Sometimes injuries can be really tough on an athlete, but I find that the year after an injury, you often come back stronger than you ever were before.
01:00Sibylle's showing this just with the way that she four-point lands these turns.
01:04You know, you've essentially spent an extra year training while everyone else was competing and wearing down their body,
01:11and Sibylle was just building herself up stronger and stronger.
01:14Yeah, she's put in that time in the gym. She's a physiotherapist by trade, so she knows the human body and the mechanics of it extremely well.
01:23Knows exactly how to train to put herself in the best possible position for success on the Freeride World Tour.
01:29Sibylle finding a nice little wind feature there up high.
01:33So adding to that line score and wrapping around the same section we saw Winter McBride take.
01:37Really smart skiing so far by Sibylle.
01:39For sure, avoiding that heartbreak hotel section and popping off nice with that landing, coming through, enjoying the pattern.
01:49Now it's just all about getting through this bottom chewed-up section.
01:54So Sibylle Blanchant entering the couloir.
01:57You can see it is extremely tracked.
01:59Ski women, the last category of the day, going out way on the rider's left side
02:04and getting into a really rocky area, airing into the couloir, pointing at ball line,
02:09and a nice right-footed turn to transition into the flats.
02:14Really nice, strong skiing out of the Swiss rider.
02:1726 years old.
02:19Again, first place in Verbier in 2022.
02:22She knows what the podium feels like, and she wants to get back there for sure.
02:26Yeah, well, a very strong campaign to get herself onto the podium.
02:30With that run from Sibylle Blanchant, you can tell these women were watching the ski men as the valet flag.
02:37We've got flares going.
02:38The French crowd definitely joined by some Swiss fans there as Sibylle Blanchant down in the finish,
02:45clicking her skis off after a successful run down the Pointe de Torrent.
02:49So let's take a look.
02:51Look at this top section.
02:52That's such a committing air with so much exposure right before she gets right on her downhill ski
02:57and then launches this bottom cliff and really just four-point landing.
03:05Yeah, judges bars looking really high on the line and control,
03:10taking a ball-line approach to this air, Hadley.
03:13Yeah, a little different than Winter.
03:14Missing the errand style, not getting the grab, but certainly playing it confident.
03:19And this was a spicy exit.
03:22You can see she pretty much has to hover over that rock.
03:25Yeah, so right into the core.
03:27Winter score is 72.
03:29Sibylle's score climbing up 74-33.
03:32So Sibylle Blanchant taking over the rock.
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