Candide Thovex
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011) |
Candide Thovex (born 22 May 1982), is a French professional skier. Candide Thovex knew how to ski as soon as he knew how to walk. And it shows when you see his ability on the mountain or in the park. Candide is kind of a revolutionary in the ski world. While others prefer to slide between stakes, he chose the freestyle path, first in Moguls (he became France's national champion of ski Moguls at age 14) and literally catches air between mountains. Because Candide is the kind of rider to throw himself from a hill to the other one, or off a cornice with incredible back flips and other insane tricks done with extreme risk. With all these senseless feats Candide became a ski icon in France, popular like few skiers were before him in France, relegating the pros of Alpine skiing to simple bodybuilded robots of mountain slopes. Though he looks frail, Candide is a ski genius with tremendous bravery, charismatic personality and a huge aura. Every product carrying his signature is a success as kids really identify themselves with this alternative sports super hero.
For all these feats and his contribution to the sport, Candide Thovex is simply writing one of the most interesting pages of skiing history. His name could be inscribed in the annals of the sport next to Ingemar Stenmark or Jean Claude Killy in their Alpine disciplines. Candide is simply a look towards the future!
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Thovex was born in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, and grew up in the village of La Clusaz. Thovex learned to ski in the Aravis region of the French Alps. La Clusaz is where his childhood friends and girlfriend live and where he perfected his big air technique.
In 1998, he was fourth in the X Games Big Air. Candide became better known for being the first person to jump Chad's Gap.
In 1999, he was eliminated from the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird. With a few days to kill he was convinced by film maker Kris Ostness to go into the backcountry to film Ostness's film, Clay Pigeons. After Chad Zurinskas failed in his attempt to take the jump, Thovex asked if he could try. Then 16, Candide pulled what at the time was the largest, cleanest mute grab ever recorded. He came back to it the next year and landed a backflip 360, which could be described as a cork 7. Candide won Xgames gold for big air in 2000. He also won gold at the X Games in 2003 for halfpipe[1] and 2007 for slopestyle. His 2007 run was switchup, switchup, 270 off the flat down box, 360 switchup 270 off the trap box. Switch right misty 7 mute, switch cork 9 mute, cork 9 tail, switch 630 on, and switch cork 10 tail.
[edit] Candide Invitiational
Candide is the organizer of the Candide Invitational in his hometown of La Clusaz, a competition which gathers freestyle skiing and snowboarding best talents. An event just like Candide : modern, innovative and always the theatre of special feats. Thanks to this event, Candide Thovex changed the standards of modern skiing and showed the world that this sports not only consists in going down the mountain as quickly as possible to get the best time record. Smart with his professional approach of the sport, he carries out his own freestyle ski movies in which he's the hero like Special Delivery, Rastafaride and French Toast. Candide leads a generation of kids who dream to fulfil his performances.
He has appeared in many movies, notably the Rastafaride series. [1]
[edit] Film appearances
- The Game
- Propaganda
- Royalty
- Focused
- Rastafaride 1
- Rastafaride 2
- Rastafaride 3
- Rastafaride 4
- Rastafaride 5
- Rastafaride 6
- Rastafaride 7
- French Toast
- Special Delivery
- Pull Up
- DVD Candide Invitational
- Wha'ppen
- Further
- Anomaly
- War
- Candide Thovex Invitational Story
- Lost & Found
- Strike
- Mind the gap
- Happy Dayz
- Tangerine Dream
- Candide Kamera
- Candide Kamera 2
[edit] Competition results
1999:
- 4th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Big Air
2000:
- 1st X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Big Air
- 1st Gravity Games, Mammoth Mountain, California, Big Air
2002:
- 2nd US Open, Vail, Colorado, Superpipe
- 4th US Open, Vail, Colorado, Slopestyle
- 5th US Open, Vail, Colorado, Big Air
- 2nd World Skiing Invitational, Whistler, BC, Canada, Superpipe
- 1st Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Overall
- 2nd Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Halfpipe
- 1st Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Slopestyle
- 2nd Rip Curl Freeski, Saas Fee, SUI., Big Air
- 9th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Slopestyle
- 4th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Superpipe
2003:
- 2nd World Superpipe Championships, Park City, UT., Halfpipe
- 5th X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Slopestyle
- 1st X Games, Aspen, Colorado, Superpipe
2006:
- 1st Orage European Feeskiing Open, Laax, SUI., Superpipe
2007:
- 1st. X games 11, Aspen, Colorado, slopestyle
- 5th. X games 11, Aspen, Colorado, superpipe
- 5th Ski Tour, Sun Valley, ID.
2010:
- 1st. Red Bull Linecatcher
- 1st. Freeride World Tour Chamonix
- 1st. Freeride World Tour Overall
- 2009-2010 Freeride World Champion
[edit] References
http://quiksilver.co.uk/england/team/snow/8/thovex-candide.html
[edit] External links
- More news and photographs about Candide Thovex on this french blog
- Candide Thovex interview in The Ski Journal
- http://www.candidethovex.com
- http://www.candidekamera.com
