YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke Riders Unveiled
Six Winners from YETI Natural Selection DUELS to Join Riders Pre-Qualified from 2024, Wildcards, and Two Research & Development winners in Revelstoke
Watch Two Live Snowboarding Competition Days March 10-17 on Red Bull TV
YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke returns this March with two full days of live competition, showcasing the best all-mountain snowboarders in the world vying for the Natural Selection Tour title. The event will be broadcast exclusively and live on Red Bull TV for the two days that Mother Nature calls during the March 10-17 weather window.
Six riders have emerged victorious from the YETI Natural Selection DUELS (watch now here) These riders have secured their spots after competing at standout natural and naturally-enhanced venues worldwide. Congratulations to these riders who have punched their tickets to Revelstoke:
- Ståle Sandbech (Andermatt + Sedrun + Disentis, Switzerland DUEL winner)
- Madison Blackley (Eleven Irwin, Crested Butte, CO DUEL winner)
- Brin Alexander (evo’s Journeyman Lodge at the Callaghan, BC DUEL winner)
- Severin van der Meer (Kirkwood Mountain Resort, Lake Tahoe, CA DUEL winner)
- Blake Moller (High MTN Heli, Victor, ID DUEL winner)
- Aya Sato (Lime Resort, Myoko, Japan DUEL winner)
Of his DUEL with Tor Lundstrom, Ståle Sandbech said, “Tor and I competed together as kids in Norway, and have known each other for so long. So it was cool to compete together again in the backcountry years later. The DUEL was sick. We had nice conditions and were lucky enough to get five runs each on the face.”
Sandbech is now focused on Revelstoke, “I’m happy to make it to the next round of Natural Selection. I’m ooking forward to checking out this Revy course to figure out how I can ride here. And then how the whole mind game works in this competition compared to what I am used to in the slopestyle scene.”
In an exciting new addition, two riders will join the Natural selection roster in Revelstoke from Research & Development (RND), an all-women’s backcountry freestyle event that features 12 of the top up-and-coming, all-mountain snowboarders. The 2024 winner Ellery Manning and 2025 winner Šárka Pančochová will fill two of the eight women’s spots in Revelstoke. Pančochová also competed with Sato at this winter’s DUEL in Japan.
- Ellery Manning (USA) win at the first ever Research & Development event. 2024 Research & Development (RND) Winner
- Šárka Pančochová (CZE)- 2025 Research & Development (RND) Winner
Eighteen year old Ellery Manning, received the invite through her win at RND, right after the 2024 event in Revelstoke,
“Being invited to NST almost felt surreal and made me realize that I can make snowboarding a real-life goal. When I won the invite, it felt so far away that I didn’t fully process that I would be going to NST. Now that we are creeping up on the event it’s beginning to feel more real and the nerves are starting to kick in.”
Manning continued, “NST is unique because it’s an event where freeride and freestyle are mixed, which I think is the sickest thing ever and the format allows riders to be incredibly creative. I’m looking forward to seeing the riders’ competitive processes and the Revy terrain in person.”
Riders who finished in the top half on day one of the 2024 YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke and moved on to compete in the final day of competition received automatic pre-qualified invites to the 2025 event.
Pre-qualified riders:
- Torgeir Bergrem (NOR)
- Mikey Ciccarelli (CAN)
- Jared Elston (USA)
- Marion Haerty (FRA)
- Sage Kotsenburg (USA)
- Nils Mindnich (USA)
- Mary Rand (USA)
- Travis Rice (USA)
- Austen Sweetin (USA)
Notably, a few of the riders who pre-qualified with their 2024 results will be deferring their invites. Hailey Langland (USA) will be absent this season due to injury, Jamie Anderson (USA) will be out while expecting her second child, and Torstein Horgmo (NOR) is taking the season off to recharge after a huge year creating his 2024 film release Return. Rounding out the line-up are wildcard athletes, who will fill those spots and more. These wildcards were invited based on past NST season performances or standout riding in the closest DUELS this season.
Wildcard riders:
- Elena Hight (USA) – 2022 NST Champion
- Mikkel Bang (NOR) – 2021 NST Champion
- Ben Ferguson (USA)
- Spencer O’Brien (CAN)
- Brandon Davis (USA) – for stand-out riding in his 2025 DUEL with van der Meer
- Dustin Craven (CAN)
- And a final men’s mystery wildcard announcing on @naturalselectionsnow later this week
The two live competition days will be held in the rugged, feature-filled backcountry terrain of Montana Bowl outside of Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s boundaries. Here riders will navigate the expansive natural landscape, testing their skills and creativity in front of a global audience and an in-person crowd. Only the top 12 riders from the first day of competition will advance to the second day of action, where they will battle for the coveted title of 2025 Natural Selection Tour Champions.
- YETI Natural Selection DUELS – Watch now! On-demand on Red Bull TV
- YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke – March 10-17, 2025 (Live broadcast for two competition days) on Red Bull TV – redbull.com/NSTsnow
Like-minded partners are coming together to help develop and support the Natural Selection Tour. YETI is back as the Title Partner of the DUELS, Natural Selection Revelstoke, and as the Tour’s Official Sustainability Partner. YETI will also title the inaugural Natural Selection Ski event in Alaska. Arc’teryx returns as the Tour’s outerwear partner for both snowboarding and skiing. Additional partners signed on include A New Earth Project, Blackstrap, Dakine, 10 Barrel Brewing, Oakley, Ski-Doo, Turtlebox, Manscaped, Mammut, and BOA.
