Slopestyle season set to open in Stubai
Nov 17, 2021·Freeski Park & Pipe
The world’s best are locked in and ready for the start of the 2021/22 FIS Freeski slopestyle World Cup season from 17-20 November 2021 in Austria, where, for the the fifth time, we’ll be heading to the Stubai Zoo for early-season action. Qualifications in Stubai will be taking place on Friday, November 19th, followed by finals on Saturday, November 20th. Finals will be broadcast live on ORF1 and via livestream at skiworldcup.live, with international broadcasters to be announced closer to competition time.
With just three slopestyle World Cup competitions on the calendar between now and the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in February, the pressure on the athletes coming into Stubai is immense as they look to earn points and lock up spots on their respective national teams - as well as earn a piece of the 50,000 CHF in prize money up for grabs.
The levels of progression we’ve seen in the early-season training camps leading up to the Stubai slopestyle World Cup has been at an all-time, with tricks like the women’s world-first double cork 1440 landed by China’s Ailing Eileen Gu two weekends ago just one of many ground-breakers that have gone down this autumn. With this in mind, all signs point to Stubai being a must-watch event this weekend.
The park in Stubai is perfectly shaped, and a huge number of next weekend’s competitors are already have an idea of what to expect after taking part in the Prime Park Sessions at Stubai over the last several weeks. Nearly 100 athletes are slated to drop in this week across the women’s and men’s fields, with 32 women and 63 men on the preliminary start lists - meaning that almost everybody who’s anybody is in Austria and ready to throw down.
Can Ledeux make it back-to-back wins in Stubai?
On the women’s side it’s last year’s winner Tess Ledeux who leads the charge, and the two-time World Champion and X Games winner will be rolling into Stubai on a high thanks to her victory at the big air World Cup opener in Chur one month ago. Ledeux was perfect in last season’s slopestyle World Cup events, winning three-out-of-three competitions on her way to earning the slopestyle crystal globe and the Freeski overall title. Expect her to maintain that exceptional form this weekend.
Ledeux will be in tough against the above-mentioned Gu, who finished third last year in Stubai before going on to win two golds and a bronze at the Aspen 2021 World Championships - including the slopestyle title. As we’ve already mentioned, Gu caused a sensation this month when she stomped that double cork 1440 and, with her exceptional skills on the jumps and ever-evolving rail game, the 18-year-old could be in a league of her own this weekend.
In the last two seasons Gu has somewhat stolen the hype that used to surround Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru, who won the Stubai slopestyle back in 2018 but has only competed in one slopestyle World Cup since that event. However, the 19-year-old Sildaru does have two X Games slopestyle victories in that time, and she remains one of the most talented women in skiing. If Sildaru is motivated for victory, watch out, world.
Switzerland, as always, will be well-represented by PyeongChang 2018 gold and silver medallists (respectively) Sarah Hoefflin and Mathilde Gremaud, with 2019/20 big air crystal globe winner Giulia Tanno right there alongside them in freeskiing’s elite category.
With the USA represented by Maggie Voisin, Caroline Claire, and Marin Hamill, Great Britain coming in with Kirsty Muir and Katie Summerhayes, big air World Champion Anastasia Tatalina representing Russia, and Megan Oldham flying the Maple Leaf of Canada, there are a whole lot of possible podium combinations for this weekend.
Lastly, keep an eye on last year’s Stubai second-place finisher Johanne Killi (NOR), as she makes her return to competition after a season-ending injury suffered at the Kreischberg big air World Cup early last season.
With Ragettli out, who will step up in stacked men's field?
For men, the projected startlist is enough to get the pulse racing for any fan of freeskiing, although the absence of reigning slopestyle World Champion Andri Ragettli (SUI) leaves a noticeable hole in the field. While Ragettli continues to get back into top form after a knee injury that required surgery back in March, the Swiss Freeski team will be nonetheless well-represented by the likes of 2015 slopestyle World Champion Fabian Boesch, Kim Gubser and Colin Wili.
The Swedish squad should also be on your watch list, with 2018 Stubai winner (and eight-time X Games winner) Henrik Harlaut, and his compatriots Jesper Tjader (overall World Cup winner Slopestyle 2014) and reigning big air World Champion Oliwer Magnusson on hand to rep the Tre Kroner.
And, of course, there are the overseas representatives who are locked, loaded and ready to battle with the Scandinavian armada. Three-time X-Games winner Alex Hall leads an always-strong US team that also includes two-time Olympic medallist and four-time X-Games winner Nick Goepper, crystal globe winner Mac Forehand and one of the event’s biggest podium favourites - last season’s slopestyle and Freeski overall crystal globe winner Colby Stevenson.
2019 slopestyle World Champion James Woods of Great Britain, as well as Canadians like Mark Hendrickson, Teal Harle (second place at Chur) and Evan McEachran are just a few more of the names to watch in men’s competition next weekend.
Host Austrian team looking for World Cup success on home soil
With 17-year-old Matej Svancer fresh off his first World Cup victory at the Big Air in Chur in his first appearance representing Austria after switching over from the Czech team this past summer, the ÖSV team comes into competition with one of the world’s most exciting freeskiers ready to make some noise at a home soil event.
Lukas Muellauer, who won his first Big Air World Cup in 2019 and finished seventh as the second best Austria at the season opener in Chur, is also one of the top contenders on Austrian soil.
For the Austrian women it will be Lara Wolf and Laura Wallner flying the flag, and both will be highly motivated to start the season strong - especially Wallner, who calls Stubai her home resort.
PROGRAMME FIS FREESKI WORLD CUP STUBAI 2021
Wed, Nov 17 - Training women & men
Thursday, November 18 - Training women & men
Fri, November 19 - Qualification women & men
Sat, November 20 - Finals women & men | LIVE on ORF1 from 11.20 a.m.
QUICK LINKS:
FIS Freeski World Cup Stubai data page (start lists, live scoring, results and more)
Stubai FLYP game (with prizes)
