FIS Freeski 2019/20 Season Preview: Big Air
Oct 25, 2019·Freeski Park & Pipe
The 2019/20 FIS Freeski big air World Cup season will open this winter’s action in the northern hemisphere at the FIS Freeski Modena (ITA) Skipass big air World Cup on November 3rd, the first of four big air World Cup competitions slated to take place at three uber exciting city venues and one resort locale, all set to take place across three continents over the coming months.
After the Modena competition we move on to Beijing (CHN) on December 14, where freeskiing has been added to the Air+Style programme for the first time since Air+Style has joined the ranks of FIS World Cup competitions, and then to Atlanta on December 21, before wrapping things up at a new venue in Destne (CZE) on February 29, 2020.
Venues:
Modena (ITA), Nov 2 — Part of the ModenaFiere Skipass snow sports and tourism festival, Modena made its debut as a World Cup host in 2018/19 and quickly established itself as a season highlight with huge crowds, a perfect jump, and a premier location in one of Italy’s great cities, carrying on the strong tradition of Italian city events that began with the also-excellent Milano competitions back in 2016. All ingredients are in place to make the Modena the perfect jumping-off point for the 2019/20 season.
Beijing (CHN), Dec 14 - While FIS Snowboard has been in partnership with Air + Style for the past two iterations of the Beijing event, 2019/20 marks the first season that freeski athletes will get in on the action at the Chinese capital. And, if that isn’t enough, this season’s event is made even more exciting by the fact that it will take place on the permanent big air jump just completed in west Beijing at the Shougang Industrial Park - a spot that is set to be the venue for big air competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Don’t miss this one.
Atlanta (USA), Dec 20 - Back in 2015/16 FIS Freeski along with the US Ski & Snowboard Association made a statement with the first-ever freeski big air Word Cup held on US soil by bringing the action to Boston’s world-famous Fenway Park for what was the season’s marquee event. This year we’ve once again got the snowsports world buzzing for a US competition, with the FIS Snowboard and Freeski Atlanta Visa big air World Cup set to take over SunTrust Park in December. With a massive, 50 metre tall big air jump set to take over the outfield at the home of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and the world’s very best sure to be on hand and pushing their limits, the Atlanta competition is set to close out the 2019 calendar year in epic fashion.
Destne (CZE), Feb 29 - The latest edition to the 2019/20 FIS Freeski big air World Cup calendar comes to you from Destne (CZE), where the top men and women of the tour will close out the big air portion of the 2019/20 season at the modest resort with a big freeskiing pedigree. While this will be the resort’s first turn as a World Cup host, Destne has hosted a myriad of big air and slopestyle competitions from other tours in recent years, and with a strong organizer and big ambitions, the new venues certain to be an exciting new addition to the World Cup calendar.
Ones to watch - WOMEN:
Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) - A two-time X Games big air champion, three-time World Cup big air competition winner, and the silver medallist from the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games (where she finished just behind her compatriot Sarah Hoefflin), Mathilde Gremaud has been one of world’s top freeskiers essentially since the day she set foot on the international competition circuit. In fact, the only time Gremaud has finished outside of the top 10 in her entire career was in her very first World Cup competition, racking up eight podiums in 11 events since that day.
Elena Gaskell (CAN) - 18-year-old Elena Gaskell turned some heads in a big way in just her second full season of action on the FIS Freeski World Cup in 2018/19, winning the season-opener at Cardrona on the strength of an incredible switch dub 1260. Gaskell would go on to finish the season with a third place on home soil in Quebec on her way to wining last year’s big air crystal globe, putting herself on the must-invite list for events like the Dew Tour and the X Games in the process.
Johanne Killi (NOR) - In typical Scandinavian fashion, 22-year-old Johanne Killi is perhaps not the flashiest skier on the World Cup circuit. What she most definitely IS, however, is one of the most technically sound and consistently impressive riders you’ll have the pleasure of watching. With six X Games medals in 10 attempts, eight World Cup podiums, and a near-miss fifth place finish at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games in slopestyle, Killi is podium threat every time she drops in.
Not to be overlooked: Sarah Hoefflin (SUI), Silvia Bertagna (ITA), Guilia Tanno (SUI), Johanne Killi (NOR), Kea Kuehnel (GER), Maggie Voisin (USA), Kelly Sildaru (EST), Carloline Claire (USA)
Ones to watch - MEN:
Andri Ragettli (SUI) - When he’s not busy breaking the internet with his elaborate parkour gym set-ups or becoming the first freeskier to land a quad cork 1800, Swiss star Andri Ragettli is busy being one of the most consistent - and consistently incredible - contest riders on the planet. Ragettli has only finished outside of the top-5 five times since the 2015/16 season while locking down an incredible 15 podiums in 23 World Cup slopestyle and big air competitions during that period. In fact, no other athlete in FIS Freeski history has more podiums than Mr. Ragettli’s total of 16, and as he’s still but 21 years old that number is certain to keep rising for years to come.
Henrik Harlaut (SWE) - Now considered an elder statesman in the freeski world at the ripe old age of 28, Swedish style master Henrik Harlaut continues to amaze at every competition he enters. And with silver medals at the Utah 2019 world championships last February and at X Games Norway in September (his 11th X Games medal), he has recently proven there’s plenty left in the tank as he continues to set the standard of cool for his fans the world over.
Fabian Boesch (SUI) - As much as we’d like to share the love around a few different nations in this section, it’s simply impossible to exclude Fabian Boesch when you’re talking about the world’s best big air freeskiers. The reigning world champion after an incredible showing in Utah 2019 (he also has world championships gold from the Kreischberg 2015 slopestyle competition), Boesch is one of the most explosive, inventive, and exciting athletes on skis, with an enthusiasm for his sport that is nothing short of infectious. With Boesch, Ragettli and their countryman Kai Mahler, the Swiss squad has one of the heaviest trios in freeskiing.
Not to be overlooked - Alex Beaulieu-Marchand (CAN), Birk Ruud (NOR), Alexander Hall (USA), James Woods (GBR), Oystein Braaten (NOR), Evan McEachran (CAN), Elias Syrja (FIN)
Livestream:
While the announcement of the Atlanta competition certainly made some waves, in the longer term perhaps the biggest news of the season for fans of FIS Snowboard, Freestyle, and Freeski action was the announcement that ALL World Cup events will be live streamed on the FIS Snowboard or FIS Freestyle YouTube channels this season.
Available for free viewing in all nations where a national broadcaster does not hold exclusive rights to the event, the new live streaming agreement with broadcast rights holder InFront Sports and Media is an important and exciting one for our sports moving forward, and we look forward to growing engagement and viewership over the season as awareness spreads.
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