Valentin Delluc's trajectory as a teenager is a classic one for a sports-mad mountain kid. Alpine skiing on the slopes of Morzine came first. Then, at about 13, he moved on to freeskiing and began taking part in contests, where he stood out because of his talent. Around the same time, he discovered another passion: paragliding. If there's such a thing as a paragliding bug, it bit Delluc directly after his maiden flight aged just 11.

As a teenager, when he wasn't on his skis, he was spending hours learning the basics of this demanding discipline. Why did Valentin take to the skies? There's no need to have spent years studying psychology to realise it's closely linked to the desire for freedom. This is also probably why he started to freeride at 17-years-old.

The connection between the two disciplines was quickly made and led him to speedriding, which mixes freeskiing and paragliding.

The discipline is still developing and Valentin saw the opportunity to push the limits of the sport instantly – something he's been doing ever since. He quickly became one of the world's best, winning his first competitions and dominating the Speed Riding Tour in 2014.

Above all, though, Valentin has become a huge hit online. His videos amaze anyone who watches them – whether that's the viral 2016 smashes of him outrunning an avalanche, or his incredible 2021 project From Avoriaz with Love, which saw him return to a favourite stomping ground to take speedriding to the next level with world-first tricks on the streets, rooftops and chairlift cables of the deserted ski resort. There's no more progressive speedrider on the planet currently.

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