Freebord in 24 Heures

Freebord made an appearance in the Swiss newspaper 24 Heures today! Click here to see the original article entitled “Le Freebord redonne le sourire aux snowboarders.” Keep reading to check out the sick picture of Pierre Linckenheld and the translated version of the article below.

The Freebord gives a smile to snowboarders
Discover the thrill of sliding on the asphalt with this urban board, still little known in Switzerland
By Florian Cella

Spring arrives and snowboarders depressed, end of the season requires. But take heart! All is not lost, thanks to the Freebord. A board that has existed for almost fifteen years, but has not many followers in our country.

Born, like many other fun sports, Calif., on steep hills of San Francisco, the Freebord provides the same thrills and chills as snowboarding, but on the asphalt. Its inventor, Steen Strand, has gradually evolved to arrive at this strange board (six) wheels. Nothing like the longboard (the longer version of the skate) that sometimes you cross your path.

The secret of sensations obtained through the Freebord is under the board: two central wheels that rotate 360 ​​degrees, like the wheels of shopping carts, in addition to the traditional four-wheel skateboard.

Carver on the slopes
This is in Lausanne, steep city par excellence, that Peter Linckenheld, Freebord representative for western Switzerland, we present the craft. A former pastry chef, who worked for Anne-Sophie Pic and Didier de Courten, is also an avid sports. “The Freebord is designed to hit the slopes and leave it lying around the fingertips on the asphalt,” but with gloves please, because attention to the fall! Helmets required and recommended protection of the joints.

A back protector is not a luxury. “It takes a few hours to learn the basics, a few days to be comfortable. Start on gentle slopes to learn to control your speed and slip carvant. Following: that happiness! ”

Good balance for
the board is not made ​​for walking flat by the lake. But there is also no sense of competition in this sport, Pierre Linckenheld assures us: “Making Freebord is sharing a moment of slides together.” Small communities to come together Freeborders on Facebook and share videos of their exploits. “For now, these are mostly young men who practice it. But women point the tip of their nose, especially in France: look at snowboarding, they are there! ”

This sport develops balance, strength in the thighs, proprioception (body awareness in space). “It’s especially good to the head and makes you leave your home.”

The test
It was at the Valley Youth I tested the Freebord. Barded protections, feet propped up in the brackets, I start … So warn you: the beginnings are difficult. Like the first glides into snowboarding. Skateboard enthusiasts, forget your reflexes. The central wheels make me slide sideways, like on snow. And the side wheels act as edges: they allow to slip gently or stay the course. Past the unpleasant sensation of being on a carpet of logs, has finally clicks. Everything is smooth, the whole body participates in the movement.

Later, you can even make rotations about yourself, in full descent. But beware of the lack of edge, on the asphalt it even less forgiving than snow!