In 2021, the legendary Travis Rice launched the Natural Selection Tour, one of the most prestigious snowboard contests in the world. Unlike the XGames and Olympics that take a more tradiontal approach to judging airs, height and rotations, Natty Select (aka Natural Selection) focuses on backcountry freestyle snowboarding. Style, line selection and tricks are all taken into account at infamous big mountain locations as snowboarders go head to head. This year's Natural Selection Tour is scheduled from March 10 to 17 in the stunning backcountry of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, BC.
Ahead of the main competition, a thrilling face-off between twelve skilled riders will be featured on Red Bull TV on February 27, known as the DUELS, determining one lucky participant who will join the Tour.
Six showdowns will be held at iconic mountain venues in Switzerland; Colorado, USA; Japan; and British Columbia, Canada. Designed to unveil riders’ creativity, skill and resilience against diverse backdrops, the daring dozen will compete for the six remaining spots (two for women and four for men) available for stage two in Revelstoke in March.
The Duels winners will be revealed in the Duels episodes released on February 27, exclusively on Red Bull TV, which leaves one men’s spot open. With the selection committee out snowboarding, they'll hand the final rider invite over to the fans. The Extra Selection opens up a public vote on Red Bull.com to give one of the Duels riders who was close – but didn’t make the final cut – a ticket straight through to Revelstoke.
Voting opens from February 27 to March 3, with the winner announced on Natural Selection's Instagram on March 5.
Here are your Duels matchups:
- Sebbe DeBuck vs Kevin Backstrom in Andermatt, Switzerland
- Jamie Anderson vs Emma Crosby at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colorado, USA
- Nils Mindnich vs Victor Daviet at Purgatory Snowcat Adventures in Durango, Colorado, USA
- Spencer O’Brien vs Mary Rand at RED Mountain Resort, Rossland, British Columbia, Canada
- Red Gerard vs Austen Sweetin at Eleven’s terrain on Scarp Ridge in Irwin, Colorado, USA
- Raibu Katayama vs Torgeir Bergrem in Myoko, Japan