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Seppe Smits has won a string of slopestyle titles since turning pro more than 10 years ago. Watch this film to learn how his intense training regime enables him to land the hallowed Triple trick.
Seppe Smits pits himself against the best in the world in the notoriously challenging discipline of slopestyle snowboarding. It involves employing some unbelievable moves to take on a series of rails and jumps in a bid to score as many points as possible from the panel of judges. One such move is the famous Triple, which consists of executing a triple flip with four full horizontal rotations.
Watch the documentary below to learn how the Belgian snowboarder goes about preparing his body for action.
“The bar is set higher every year,” says Smits. “Nowadays you have to train really hard, both on the piste and off it. This is the only way you can keep snowboarding at this level and stay injury-free, so after a day of snowboarding I go to the gym to recuperate and do strength or conditioning training. I’m completely in control of myself and surround myself with the correct people.”
The documentary features interviews with numerous experts, including his coach, Jean-Valére Demard, and Benedicte Vanwanseele, a professor of sport biomechanics who reveals that Smit pulling off a 20m-long jump at 6-8m in height can have an enormous effect on his body.
“The impact of such a jump is enormous,” says Vanwanseele. “It’s at least 10 times Seppe’s body weight. He weighs 68kg, so 680kg hits his body on landing. Knees, hips and stomach are really important here, as they absorb most of the shock. Training, focus and fitness are therefore essential.”
Snowboarding competitions, of which the Winter Olympics is a big one, require the right mindset and months of preparation. That doesn’t just mean gliding down snow-covered mountains, but also being mentally fit, doing intensive physical training, and getting support from the correct people.
“Seppe is incredibly driven,” says Valére Demard. “He fully understands that you must be at your physical peak to perform. This is how you can push your limits, and your tricks become technically more difficult. He’s also really strong mentally. We work on this together – this ensures he has the self-confidence and the energy to compete with the world’s best.”