Ben Richards, 2026 Freeride World Tour Men's Ski Champion & FIS Freeride World Champion

Ben Richards is the newly crowned 2026 Freeride World Tour Men’s Ski Champion — and the very first, FIS World Champion. Ben just wrapped up one of the most impressive seasons in FWT history, and today, Ben and Jonathan go through each of his runs on the tour. They also talk about his background; how his approach to comp skiing has evolved over the years; and, you’ll hear a cool story about the ski Ben used to blow all of our minds.

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We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or offer your hot takes for us to rate. You can email those to us here.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Blister Summit Starts Today! (1:19)

Shoutout: New BLISTER+ Members (2:02)

Fresh Off Your Win, What Have You Been Up To? (4:12)

Ben’s Background in Skiing (5:15)

When Did You First Get into Freeride Comps? (8:33)

The Legendary Community of Kiwi Skiers (12:59)

Progression as a Comp Skier (14:13)

Dissecting Each Run:

1st FWT Tour Stop: Baqueira Beret, Spain (19:51)

2nd Stop: Val Thorens, France (25:44)

3rd Stop: World Champs in Andorra (28:12)

Dealing with Cancelled Comps (32:16)

4th Stop: Haines, Alaska (34:18)

5th Stop: Verbier & the Bec des Rosses (40:05)

Skiing Lines at Super-High Speeds (47:21)

Hearing from the Biggest Names in Skiing (49:11)

The Ski You Competed On: Armada AntiMatter 114 (50:50)

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