Freeride World Tour Reveals 2026 Athlete Roster: Here's Who To Watch

The Freeride World Tour has announced which athletes will join its ranks for the 2026 competitive season, starting this coming January in Baqueira Beret, Spain.

The roster includes returning stars, potential underdogs, and a fresh crop of rookies who earned a ticket to the big leagues after navigating the qualifiers circuit. Much like the last few seasons, the roster continues to skew younger, made up of skiers capable of blending freeride fundamentals with the newer, trick-oriented version of the discipline.

The 2026 POWDER Photo Annual is here! Look for a print copy on a newsstand near you, or click here to have a copy shipped directly to your front door.

Freeride World Tour 2026 Roster

Ski Women 

• Justine Dufour-Lapointe (CAN) – Reigning FWT Champion
• Jenna Keller (SUI)
• Astrid Cheylus (FRA)
• Lena Kohler (GER)
• Molly Armanino (USA)
• Lily Bradley (USA)
• Zuzanna Witych (POL)
• Lou Barin (FRA) – Rookie
• Zoé Delzoppo (FRA) – Rookie
• Wynter McBride (USA) – Rookie
• Agostina Vietti (ARG) – Rookie

Ski Men

• Marcus Goguen (CAN) – Reigning FWT Champion
• Martin Bender (SUI)
• Toby Rafford (USA)
• Valentin Rainer (AUT) – 2023 FWT Champion
• Ben Richards (NZL)
• Ross Tester (USA)
• WeiTien Ho (CAN)
• Virgile Didier (FRA)
• Tiemo Rolshoven (GER)
• Abel Moga (SPA)
• Oscar Mandin (FRA)
• Carl Regner Eriksson (SWE)
• Kristofer Turdell (SWE)
• Victor Hale-Woods (SUI) – Rookie
• Paul De Portalès (SUI) – Rookie
• Ugo Troubat (FRA) – Rookie
• Fynn Powell (NZL) – Rookie
• Kelly Hilleke (USA) – Rookie
• Joey Leonardo (USA) – Rookie
• Lochlan Harvey (CAN) – Rookie
• Jack Kolesch (CAN) – Rookie

Who To Watch on the 2026 Freeride World Tour

It’s a tough question. Each year, the level of talent inches higher on the FWT. In the past, there may have been only a few standout stars. Now, in both men’s and women’s rosters, the rosters are deep. That means that during any given competition, it could be anyone’s day to take the win.

Still, we have some favorites that showed promise last winter, whether on or off the FWT.

Women’s Standouts

In the women’s field, Justine Dufour-Lapointe remains the top dog. She’s the defending champion from last winter and, thanks to her mogul skiing background, has backflips in big terrain on lock. But the up-and-comer Astrid Cheylus, who took third overall in 2025, presents a very real podium threat. 

Then, there’s Lou Barin. While she’s a rookie on the FWT this year, she isn’t new to competing at the highest level. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Barin appeared in the slopestyle event. And former Olympic slopestyle skiers—Markus Eder and Finn Bilous, to name a few—have historically translated their skills well to the FWT format, particularly as tricks play a greater role in freeride competitions.

Men’s Standouts

Perhaps the most exciting inclusion on the men’s roster is Kelly Hilleke. The Colorado native has been not-so-quietly dropping brainmelting clips on Instagram for a while now, and his approach to skiing—hucking huge tricks off huge cliffs—is perfectly tailored to success on the Tour. If I were a betting man, I’d feel confident in putting him down for Rookie of the Year. Whatever happens, we’ll be hearing the name Kelly more in the future.

Returning skiers like Marcus Goguen, Toby Rafford, and Ross Tester will certainly give Hilleke a run for his money, though. 

All told, across both rosters, the 2026 FWT is again shaping up to be quite the show. Plus, this winter, we get a “bonus” event with the inaugural FIS World Championships in February.

Poll: Which FWT Rookie Will Have The Best Season?

Related: Beloved Ski Area Needs $200k In Donations To Operate This Season