Canadian freeride skier Justine Dufour-Lapointe couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2025 FIS Freeride World Tour campaign.
After missing last year’s competition due to personal reasons, the 2023 women’s ski champion made a strong return, opening the season with a first-place finish in Baqueira Beret, Spain last month.
Last week, the Montreal native kept her momentum going with a runner-up finish in the second stop at Val Thorens, France. With a total of 18,000 points, she is now tied with Astrid Cheylus of France at the top of the women’s ski rankings.
“Starting the season with a win was beyond what I imagined,” Dufour-Lapointe told CBC Sports.
“I was really excited to be back skiing. It was just a wonderful way to kick off the season.”
WATCH | Dufour-Lapointe discusses her success on the Freeride World Tour:
Justine Dufour-Lapointe talks about her success to start the Freeride World Tour, the extreme nature of the sport, and how she predicts it will be added to the Olympics by 2030.
Unlike traditional alpine skiing, the Freeride World Tour challenges athletes to ski down unpredictable slopes without any practice runs. Skiers have to plan their route in advance and make instant decisions while racing down the mountain.
She won her first Olympic gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games followed by claiming a silver four years later at PyeongChang 2018. Throughout her moguls career, Dufour-Lapointe collected 49 World Cup podium finishes before she announced her move away from the discipline in 2022 to pursue the Freeride World Tour — a move that has already proven to be the right decision.
“At first, I was really afraid,” the 2015 FIS mogul world champion admitted.
“The hardest part of freeride skiing is not to get lost and find your target while staying technical … But now, I’m trying mostly to just have fun and really let it go.”
Looking back on her Olympic career, the 30-year-old acknowledges how special those moments were, particularly Sochi 2014, where she stood at the top of the podium alongside her older sister Chloé, becoming just the third set of sisters to ever win gold and silver in the same Winter Olympic event.
“I’m almost amazed by what we did for so many years, competing at the same event, the same Olympic Games, the three of us,” she said, reflecting on her time alongside Chloé and their eldest sister Maxime, who all competed together in moguls.
“Now I realize way more how unique and rare it was to really do that. I’m actually more grateful and really proud of everything we achieved as a group but also individually … But in a way, I think I was ready for a new challenge, that’s why the freeride really inspired me to do it with something new and different.”
Freeride’s Olympic outlook
Freeride skiing has rapidly grown in recent years, with the Freeride World Tour drawing elite athletes and a global audience. With her success in the sport, Dufour-Lapointe believes it deserves a place on the world’s biggest stage — the Olympic Games.
“Honestly, I feel like the freeride will be one day at the Olympics. It’s gaining so much popularity, and it’s the purest form of skiing, and I would be proud to be part of that transition.”
With two stops completed, the Freeride World Tour now shifts to Kicking Horse, Golden, B.C., from February 7-13, giving Dufour-Lapointe the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd.
“I’m always really excited and happy to ski in front of my Canadian fellows. I think it has given me so much energy, and I’m so proud to just represent my country and feel that energy.”
WATCH l Dufour-Lapointe wins 2023 Freeride World Tour:
Two-time olympic medallist Justine Dufour-Lapointe on her transition to freeride skiing and winning the 2023 Freeride World Tour championship in her first season competing.
