There are quite a few changes coming to the Natural Selection Tour in the near future, but on the Mark My Bird podcast from Snowboarder Magazine alumni Tom Montessori and Mark Clavin, Travis Rice revealed a major one.
The Natural Selection Tour finals will be available to watch live.
“That’s the big evolution, I think, is two full days live at Revelstoke,” Rice said on the podcast episode that dropped Tuesday. “It was a big summer of build out and fine tuning, and I think we got a taste of what the potential is with the selector venue where we did the qualifier day – the live day – last year. And that was one of the worst years in a long time, and it was still pretty good. But I think how things are setting up…I think it’s going to be an epic event.”
Photo: Tiffany Cook
Perhaps the biggest bombshell of the interview came a little bit before the halfway point in the interview. While discussing other professional snowboard leagues like the X Games and The Snow League, Shaun White’s name came up in conversation. When Clavin asked Rice what his relationship with White was, T-Rickey revealed that the halfpipe superstar has received an invite to every Natural Selection Tour that has been held.
“We try to extend the olive branch at all opportunities,” Rice said. ”I think it would be really exciting to watch Shaun come and do it, and if he spent a little bit of time, he could dominate.”
There will be 24 riders in the field this year. One of the biggest knocks against the otherwise incredible contest is that it’s hard to watch. The duels offer some incredible snowboarding to the viewers, but they are released on Red Bull TV long after the competition date, and therefore, are not considered appointment viewing.
When asked who the biggest competitors on the Tour were, Rice didn’t hesitate to name himself. He also gave Jared Elston and Mark McMorris their dues.
“I think everyone is taking it pretty serious,” he said. “I mean, maybe not Blake (Paul).”
Rice also said that he doesn’t believe the event has a lot of direct competition. While the Freeride World Tour offers a similar product, he said it’s working its way toward being like an Olympic building block with its new FIS ownership. Freeriding will likely debut in the 2030 Olympics in France.
Natty Select is no longer just a snowboarding contest. Skiing, surfing, and mountain biking have also been added to the list of activities.