Last year's Natural Selection Tour (NST) winner, Mikey Ciccarelli, is back to defend his throne as the circuit returns to Revelstoke, B.C.
Ciccarelli pre-qualified alongside NST founder and 2023 champion Travis Rice as well as other veterans like reigning queen Marion Haerty, Sage Kotsenburg and Torgeir Bergrem.
Another Whistlerite, Brin Alexander, punched his ticket by winning a Duel at evo's Journeyman Lodge in Callaghan Valley against Bjorn Leines. Meanwhile Spencer O'Brien earned a wildcard berth alongside former champs Elena Hight and Mikkel Bang, among others.
Keep your eye out for two athletes from Research & Development (RND), an all-women’s backcountry freestyle event. These riders, Ellery Manning and Šárka Pančochová, have joined the NST for their maiden go-around.
Day one in Revelstoke is structured with a new format designed for a faster-paced event: three cutdown rounds to reduce each session from eight contenders to four. NST’s traditional head-to-head, two-run single-elimination structure will be used for the finals.
"Over the years, we’ve had too many random first-round matchups that could have [or] should have been in the finals,” said Liam Griffin, COO and co-founder of Natural Selection, in a press release. "The new qualifying round format on day one should help to ensure that the best riding rises to the top and into the final day of competition."
Revelstoke's competition window is open until March 17, and fans can keep up with the action on Red Bull TV. For more details, click here.
