Gabin Bouzanne, a freeride snowboarder trained in the Belleville valley, aims for Freeride World Tour qualification

A history rooted in the valley

Gabin Bouzanne has lived in the Belleville valley all his life and grew up at the heart of this Alpine territory. The mountain is central to both his daily life and his sport. This is the environment where he learned to ride, read the terrain and develop his own relationship with snowboarding.

Early years and competitions

Gabin Bouzanne took up snowboarding at the age of six, with the PPF team. He then joined the Snowboard Team des Belleville, where he began competing, in both freestyle and boardercross.

The move into freeride

At 15, facing decisions about the future of his career, Gabin Bouzanne no longer felt fully at home in either freestyle or boardercross. Freeski Belleville was taking shape as a club in the valley at the time. He took part in a trial day to join the group, an experience that confirmed his wish to move into freeride, the discipline he has practised ever since.

Formative influences

Several people have shaped Gabin Bouzanne's path. Ben Larochaix, his first coach, played a key role in his early years of snowboarding. Kevin Guri and Victor Galuchot supported him at Freeski Belleville and contributed significantly to his development, both as an athlete and as a person.

The road ahead

For the next stage of his career, Gabin Bouzanne is aiming for qualification on the Freeride World Tour. Alongside this, he wants to develop work in image-making, to share his vision of snowboarding and pass on what the mountain has given him over the years: experience, maturity and personal growth.

Key points

1. Gabin Bouzanne is a freeride snowboarder from the Belleville valley, who has trained at Les Menuires since childhood.
2. He took up snowboarding at six with the PPF team, before joining the Snowboard Team des Belleville in freestyle and boardercross.
3. At 15, he moved into freeride by joining Freeski Belleville, then taking shape as a club in the valley.
4. Ben Larochaix, his first coach, along with Kevin Guri and Victor Galuchot, his mentors at Freeski Belleville, shaped both his sporting and personal path.
5. He is aiming for Freeride World Tour qualification and wants to develop work in image-making to share his vision of snowboarding.