World Cup season set to open in Chur from 21-22 October
Oct 21, 2022·Snowboard Park & Pipe
The start of the 2022/23 FIS World Cup season is upon us, as a strong collection of some the most exciting snowboarders and freeskiers from around the world have descended upon Switzerland for the Big Air Chur Festival, set to go down this weekend from 21-22 October.
Big Air Chur had its World Cup debut last season and made an immediate splash as the first World Cup competition with spectators allowed on site in over a year. And when we say spectators, we mean LOTS of spectators, as some 15,000 fans were on site each day to take in a heavy-hitting list of musical performers and the very best freeskiers and snowboarders on the planet throwing down on the massive scaffold jump.
After last year’s huge success we’re expecting even bigger and better things from Big Air Chur this weekend, with an exciting lineup of performers and, of course, a full roster of some of the finest big air athletes on earth on hand and looking to begin another World Cup campaign with strong showings.
Training sessions for all athletes at the Big Air Chur have already started on Wednesday and will continue on Thursday before the fun really starts on Friday, 21 October, where freeski action will begin at 8:45 CET with qualifications, followed by the first musical acts on the big stage beginning at 15:00 CET.
After that it’s women’s and men’s freeski finals and awards ceremony from 20:00-22:00, before U.S. rap legend Busta Rhymes turns up the volume to send the party deep into the night.
(UPDATE: Freeski qualifications will begin at 9:35 with the men, followed by the women once men's heat one and two are completed. Finals remain on schedule for 20:00.)
The timetable for Saturday’s snowboard programme will mirror Friday’s freeski agenda, although this time it will be German electrorap group Deichkind on stage to close out the festivities in what should be spectacular fashion.
Also slated to perform over the course of the weekend are the likes of Stress, Kraftklub, Ali & Milchmaa, Steff La Cheffe, and others,
110,000 CHF in prize money will be up for grabs over the course of the weekend, with 55,000 allotted for each of the freeski and snowboard World Cup competitions - 27,500 CHF for each of the men’s and women’s sides of each competition.
On top of that we will, of course, be awarding the first World Cup points of the 2022/23 season, setting off on the five month quest for this winter’s crystal globes.
WHO TO WATCH - SNOWBOARD
Last season’s overall Park & Pipe crystal globe winner and the winner of last season’s Chur competition was Kokomo Murase of Japan, and the 17-year-old will be on hand in Chur once again this year looking to defend her title. With a deep bag of tricks and last season’s triumphs on her side, Murase could be tough to beat.
Of course, one rider on hand who’s proven time and again that she can beat not only Murase, but basically any other snowboarder in the world if she puts her mind to it is Austria’s Anna Gasser, and the two-time reigning Olympic big air gold medallist looks to be on a mission already here in Chur, dropping her signature cab double underflip on just her third hit of Wednesday’s training.
Others to watch out for on the women’s snowboard side include Murase’s Japanese teammate Reira Iwabuchi, rising British ripper Mia Brookes (competing in her first career World Cup), veteran Enni Rukajarvi of Finland, and Germany’s Annika Morgan.
On the men’s side the podium predictions get trickier, with consistent top-tier talent throughout the top half of the field,. That being said, there are a few names that stand out, with Rene Rinnekangas of Finland, Sweden’s Sven Thorgren, and Japan’s Takeru Otsuka among that elite upper tier.
Rinnekangas claimed what is somewhat surprisingly the only World Cup podium of his career here in Chur last season with a runner-up finish, with Thorgren finished just behind Rinnekangas in third, proving that both are comfortable stepping up on the big stage in front of what is going to be a massive Big Air Chur crowd.
Then there’s Otsuka, who somehow hasn’t had a World Cup podium in almost four years, despite having one of the deepest bags of tricks in the world. The 21-year-old seems due to step back onto the podium, and soon.
However, all of the riders above will have to go through last year’s winner Jonas Boesiger, last year’s Chur winner who claimed his maiden World Cup victory on home Swiss soil to thrill the festival crowd.
Niek van der Velden of the Netherlands, Australia’s Valentino Guseli, Clemens Millauer of Austria and an ridiculously stacked Japanese team that has six other riders aside from Otsuka are a few of the others keep an eye on on Saturday.
WHO TO WATCH - FREESKI
For the women it’s France’s Tess Ledeux leading the way, as the winner of last year’s Big Air Chur and the big air silver medallist at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be looking to extend her streak of big air World Cup podiums to four in a row this weekend.
The host Swiss squad will be well-represented as always, with their Olympic slopestyle gold medallist duo of Beijing 2022 winner Mathilde Gremaud and PyeongChang 2018 winner Sarah Hoefflin always a threat for the podium.
Canadian style masters Olivia Asselin and Megan Oldham, rising British ripper Kirsty Muir, and Sandra Eie of Norway are a few of the other names to keep an eye on on the women’s freeski side of things.
The men’s freeski lineup is looking like the deepest of any start lists set to drop in on Chur this weekend, with Beijing 2022 big air gold medallist Birk Ruud leading the way.
However, Ruud will be in tough against the likes of last year’s Chur winner Matej Svancer of Austria, stylish Canadian Max Moffat, reigning big air World Champion Oliwer Magnusson, and an incredibly deep host Swiss team that includes the likes of all-time Freeski World Cup podiums leader Andri Ragettli, Fabian Boesch, Kim Gubser, and the Wili brothers Colin and Thierry.
Finally, keep an eye on Finland’s Elias Syrja, who was establishing himself as one of the most exciting big air skiers in the world before a devastating knee injury in February 2020 knocked him out of competition for two and half years. Regardless of his result on Friday, the fact that he has worked himself back into World Cup shape and is on hand for this weekend’s action is an incredible achievement.
WHERE TO WATCH LIVE
FREESKI - FRIDAY 21 OCT
FIS LIVESTREAM (WITH GEO RESTRICTIONS) - HERE
CBC STREAMING, VIAPLAY STREAMING (DEN), TV3 SPORT (EST, LAT, LTU), V SPORT WINTER, L’EQUIP STREAMING, RAI SPORT, ESPN LATIN AMERICA STREAMING, V SPORT 1, JOJ SPORT, C SPORT WINTER
SNOWBOARD - SATURDAY 22 OCT
FIS LIVESTREAM (WITH GEO RESTRICTIONS) - HERE
CBC STREAMING, VIAPLAY (DEN), TV3 SPORT (EST, LAT, LTU), V SPORT WINTER, J SPORT 1, ESPN LATIN AMERICA STREAMING, V SPORT 2, C SPORT WINTER, VIAPLAY UK, SKIANDSNOWBOARD.LIVE
QUICK LINKS
Tickets for the Big Air Chur are available now, HERE.
Photos snowboard
