Watch Every Run That Secured Max Hitzig The Overall 2024 Freeride World Tour Title

In 2022, Hitzig seemingly materialized out of nowhere, appearing as a wildcard during that year's FWT event in Fieberbrunn, Austria. He ended up winning the event, which shocked those not keeping close tabs on the European freeride scene. I recall myself wondering, "Who is this guy?"

The weeks leading up to Hitzig's FWT debut in Austria were equally surprising. In those two weeks, after deciding to try competing, he performed well enough to qualify for the 2023 FWT. For context, many skiers spend years on the qualifiers before making it to the Tour.

Before dropping into Fieberbrunn that year, those two weeks of competitive freeride experience were all he had, establishing him as the ultimate dark horse and adding another layer of absurdity to his initial FWT appearance.

Then, in 2023, as an officially qualified, non-wildcard on the Tour, Hitzig continued to blow minds. One moment stands out: his roughly 80-foot backflip down Kicking Horse Mountain Resort's Ozone venue. Hitzig ultimately finished fourth overall during his first FWT season.

His performance this winter, then, almost seemed inevitable. Hitzig had an incredible amount of momentum. When you match that with the skills and mindset to execute, the results are often impressive.

As the dust settles after a banner season for Hitzig, this much is clear: at 21 years old, he's only getting started. The rest of us are just along for the ride.

Hitzig isn't alone, though. While he is an outlier in some ways—particularly the path he took to competitive freeride—he has plenty of competition. In an increasingly stacked field, it's becoming more and more difficult to point toward a shoo-in overall victor, which wasn't always the case.

This, of course, is a win for the freeride fans among us. The big show keeps getting better and better.