Allemand and Murase come out on top in Slopestyle to close 2026 Laax Open

Romain Allemand conquered high winds at the world-famous Laax Open (SUI) to become the first French rider in World Cup history to take top spot in the men's Slopestyle, while Japan's Kokomo Murase dominated the tough conditions to record her fifth Slopestyle World Cup win in the women's event.

In the second Slopestyle World Cup competition of the season – and the last before the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games kicks off next month – Allemand's smooth first-run score of 86.10 handed France its first ever slopestyle victory and first men’s World Cup Park & Pipe win since Arthur Longo took half-pipe gold in Calgary in 2010.

Japan's Yuto Kimura, who topped qualifying for the final, took second place on the podium as his 81.95 score pushed China's Su Yuming's opening 76.10 into third with the last run of the competition.

Allemand dazzled the judges on the renowned 505-meter six-section course with a switch boardslide to frontside boardslide to fakie, a switch boardslide pretzel rodeo 630 Indy, a backside 1080 pullback to 900 melon, a switch backside double cork 1260 nosegrab, a frontside double cork 1440 tailgrab and a frontflip nosegrab hand drag to backside 180.

The 19-year-old Frenchman, making his fifth Slopestyle World Cup start, now has a win to add to his second-place finish in Tignes on his World Cup debut in 2024.

Allemand said: "That was so tough but all is good! I just have no words as I've been struggling with my collarbone over the last few years so just to be back on my board means a lot to me.

Norway's Oyvind Kirkhus took fourth spot, while local hero Jonas Hasler, who grew up on the Laax slopes as a member of the Swiss resort's famed Freestyle Academy, finished fifth.

Due to the high winds, the final of the women's competition was delayed and, in a change to the schedule, started after the men's event had finished.

But that did little to affect Murase as she took the top spot with a superb second-run 77.50 to record her fifth Slopestyle World Cup win and take her to within one of American legend Jamie Anderson's 12-podium record.

Qualifying in seventh place for the final, Murase led after the first run with 75.20, and extended her lead with a 50-50 to lipslide, then a frontside bluntslide 270 out, a frontside double cork 900 truck driver, a switch frontside double cork 900 frontside grab, a backside 1080 mute and finally a Miller flip over the final feature.

Murase said: "Unbelievable. It was super windy but I'm so happy to record the best run. And I love Laax!"

American teenager Lily Dhawornjev, 16, announced herself as a world star of the future with a first podium finish on just her sixth Slopestyle World Cup start. Just a year after making her debut in the same event last year, Dhawornjev's first-run 71.18 proved more than enough to seal second place.

Austrian legend and two-time Olympic Big Air champion Anna Gasser, 34, completed the podium in third with 69.70 in her first World Cup appearance since recovering from a shoulder injury sustained while surfing during the off-season.

That took Gasser level with America's Anderson, who didn't compete in Laax following a hard fall in Aspen last week, with 12 Slopestyle World Cup podiums, one ahead of Murase's tally of 11, whose victory in Laax followed a third-place finish in Aspen last week.

Finland's Eveliina Taka narrowly missed out on her first podium with a career-best fourth, just ahead of 15-year-old Belgian Sky Remans, who finished fifth after a fine 11th-placed finish on her World Cup debut last week. Annika Morgan's wait for a first Slopestyle World Cup victory goes on as she ended up in sixth.

Now all eyes turn to Milano Cortina for the Olympic Winter Games, with the Slopestyle qualification rounds beginning on 16 February at the Livigno Snow Park.