Xavier De Le Rue

Snowboarder - Freeride

First and foremost Xavier De Le Rue is a mountain lover and this is at the core of all he does. In his heart he is a freerider - and spends his time in the powder whenever conditions allow. His love and skills for both powder and big mountain riding have achieved wide recognition, and Xavier continues receiving major awards from the snowboarding scene year after year.

Quick Facts

Hometown

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Homebase

Verbier, Switzerland & Saint Lary, France

Biggest dream

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How do I focus

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Best advice

Life is about experiencing things à find your own way, keep searching, never give up and you'll find happiness

What inspires you?

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Words to live by

Better try and crash than think you could do it and not give it a shot

Favourite other fitness exercise

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I don’t leave home without my...

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Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/xavierdelerue/

Top 5 career highlights

  • World Champion Freeride World Tour (2010, 2009 and 2008)
  • Best Line (Ski and Snowboard) of the Freeride World Tour (2009 and 2008)
  • Swatch OÆNeill Big Mountain Pro (Overall Winner in 2009, 2nd in 2008, Winner in 2007)
  • Freeride World Tour Verbier Extreme, Switzerland (Winner in 2009 and 2007)
  • Winner of the Freeride World Tour in Tignes, France (2009 and 2008)

Biography

Without doubt, Xavier de Le Rue is one of the best big-mountain freeriders in the world. For more than two decades he’s been actively seeking lines and locations that push the limits of what we thought possible in snowboarding. It has earned him respect and admiration from his peers and a whole host of awards and accolades, including three Freeride World Tour wins.

But he actually started out as a boardercross rider on the competition circuit. He won four World Boardercross titles before making the full-time switch to freeriding. But his pace and need for speed have never waned. In fact, he has used them to his advantage combining them with his technical riding ability to negotiate steep and narrow couloirs and gnarly looking slopes of blue ice. It should come as no surprise, then, that Xavier has twice won the ‘best line’ award on the Freeride World Tour. He’s also appeared in numerous films, from The Storming in 2010 to The Sky Piercer in 2018.

But his focus has now shifted. Through his XV Series he is sharing his knowledge and experience to allow others to safely enjoy their own adventures in the big mountains. And with the Sustainability Dialogues podcast, he wants to bring discussions about climate change to the fore.

At his core, Xavier is a true mountain man and his love for the mountains extends beyond snowboarding. He’s a skilled mountain biker, paraglider and climber. Though he also likes to surf when he’s back home on the French coast.

Awards

2010, 2012

Stand out performance of the year at TransWorld Snowboarding rider's pool

2010

Snowboarder mag Big Mountain Rider of the Year

2011

Voted Best Big Mountain Rider at the Tahoe Festival and the Saint Lary Freeride Festival

2009

Snowboarder Magazine Big Mountain of The Year

2010

Awarded for Standout part of the year at Transworld Rider Poll Award

2010

Cold Smoke Award: nominated for Best Line

2010

St Lary Freeride Film Festival: Lives of the Artist awarded Best Shooting and Jury Special Prize

Discover the latest news

HOW TO

A pro’s insights on camera

DEGREES NORTH

A film about what exploration means to three of the most progressive athletes in big-mountain freeriding

Victor De Le Rue

Marion Haerty