Ben Richards (Wānaka, 26) has dominated in this year’s Freeride World Tour, securing another win in the overnight finals to come away as the overall Men’s Ski champion for 2026.

The kiwi delivered an unstintingly confident performance on the Bec des Rosses face in Verbier, executing a perfect 360 and linking multiple sections of difficult terrain seamlessly to showcase speed and freestyle elements. He was awarded a huge 96 points and surged into the lead above tour leader Toby Rafford (second, USA) and Tiemo Rolshoven (third, Germany). That score was enough to push him ahead of Rafford in the overall tour standings to make him the ski men’s season winner. 

Speaking post-competition, Richards said it had been a dream season. Although his performance overnight didn’t go exactly to plan, with some improvisation required in the middle of the run, it clearly didn’t faze him. “I got pushed off my line so I made up a little bit in the middle, but the conditions were so perfect, I had such a good time."

Despite two of this year’s tour stops being cancelled due to weather, the finale at Verbier Switzerland played out in perfect conditions with 50cm of fresh snow on the days leading in.  The Bec des Rosses is the pinnacle of extreme freeriding. At 3,223 meters with a 600-meter vertical drop and 43-degree slopes, it offers steep and complex terrain. Teammate Fynn Powell also had an excellent run scoring an 8th placing and coming 12th overall for the 2026 season. He also took away ‘best trick’ in Verbier with an epic double backflip.

Coming off back-to-back wins at the Baqueira Beret Pro in Spain and Val Thorens Pro in France, and having won the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships, Richards had already cemented a reputation as one of the most technically precise and fluid riders on the circuit prior to Verbier.  He now holds both the world tour and world championship titles - so what next?

Freeride could soon be designated an Olympic sport with a potential debut at the 2030 Games in the French Alps, and if that happens, Richards will no doubt aim to be there. “The Olympics is a super exciting prospect for Freeride in the future,” he said. ”Hopefully it will go ahead in 2030 and if so, I’d love to be there representing New Zealand.”