NEWS

It was a much appreciated rest day in the Italian Alps for all the riders on The Swatch O'Neill Big Mountain Pro.

Knowing that there was going to be no action on the slopes on Friday, the riders ensured there was lots of action in the bar.

The town of Sauze d'Oulx just outside Sestriere was overtaken by the world's best freeriders in a party spirit.

On Friday morning things were a bit more somber as everyone woke up to another day of sunshine and no snow - but that wasn't going to stop anyone enjoying themselves.

Flo Orley, the current Freeride World Tour leader usually found on the face of a mountain, was today demonstrating his skills on the football pitch, just down the hill from the hotel.

Playing on a team with Richard Permin, Seb Michaud, Nicolas Pasquier and Drew Tabke, the Austrian skier kept up his winning form.

With three teams of five people playing winner stays on the pitch, Flo said: "We killed it. The other teams didn't have a chance. We played about 15 games and we lost only one. We had a pretty good team. All round talent".

Saturday sees the riders head off to the resort of La Grave where they will watch every run from the last week and under the supervision of the head judge, the riders will pick their winner.