Freeski slopestyle season set to start in Font Romeu
Jan 08, 2020·Freeski Park & Pipe
After a false start in Stubai (AUT) back in November the 2019/20 FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup is finally set to get underway this weekend in Font Romeu (FRA) where we'll to see men's qualifiers go own on Thursday beginning at 11:00 CET, followed by the men on Friday, and finals for all riders taking to the Font Romeu Snow Park on Saturday.
While the slopestyle season stumbled out of the gate due to the originally-planned season-opener at the Stubai Zoo being cancelled back on November 20th due to heavy snowfall and high winds, all the pieces are in place this week in the Pyrenees for an exciting re-start to the campaign, with the Font Romeu set-up looking better than it ever has for what will be the fourth-straight season of World Cup competition at the scenic and sunny resort.
Last year’s Font Romeu winner Hoefflin looking to get season on track
Coming into this week’s action there’s a number of interesting storylines that could play out on the on the women’s side of things, with last season’s Font Romeu winner (and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medallist) Sarah Hoefflin (SUI) quest to get her season on track one of the main threads.
Hoefflin has struggled so far in this season’s big air competitions, where she has earned seventh and ninth-place finishes, and one DNS after pulling out of the Atlanta competition following a crash in training just before the holiday break. Typically one of the most consistent and skilled skiers on the planet, Hoefflin will be looking for the creativity allowed by the three-jump, three-jib layout Font Romeu course to bring out the best in her skiing.
It’s not going to be easy for the 28-year-old though. Perhaps the toughest competition Hoefflin will face down will come from the likes of her teammates Mathilde Gremaud and Giulia Tanno, both of whom are skiing excellently so far in 2019/20, with Gremaud boasting two big air wins and Tanno already locking down three big air runner-up results.
Also to watch out for will be a pair of riders making their 2019/20 World Cup debuts here in Font Romeu, as France’s own Tess Ledeux and Jennie-Lee Burmansson of Sweden both boast the chops to get the new year started on the right foot this weekend. Ledeux is a proven high-pressure performer, having won on home soil at both the 2016/17 and he 2017/18 iterations of the Font Romeu competition, while claiming gold at last season’s Utah 2019 world championships and taking top spot at the X Games Norway big air competition in September.
Burmansson will be an interesting one to watch, as the 17-year-old missed all of last season due to injury. However, she also claimed the 2017/18 slopestyle crystal globe in just her first season of World Cup competition, and if she’s anywhere near the form she exhibited in that campaign she could very well challenge for a podium in this, her first World Cup competition in nearly two years.
Also on the ones-to-watch list for the women this week are Johanne Killi (NOR), Silvia Bertagna (ITA), and Elena Gaskell (CAN).
Sweden, Switzerland and Norway fielding top men’s squads
Over on the men’s side of things, just one of the three previous Font Romeu winners will be on hand for this season’s competition, as Oscar Wester (SWE) returns to the scene of his lone World Cup victory as part of an extremely strong Swedish team. With the likes of 11x X Games medallist Henrik Harlaut, 2016/17 Font Romeu World Cup runner-up Jesper Tjader, and last year’s fourth-overall slopestyle rider Oliwer Magnusson all repping the Tre Kroner, the Swedes will be a team to watch from start to finish.
Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli leads the way for another one of the strongest squads on hand. A two-time slopestyle crystal globe winner and the rider with the most-ever Freeski World Cup podiums, 21-year-old Ragettli will be looking to step it up this year and improve on last season’s third-place result in Font Romeu. Utah 2019 big air world champion Fabian Boesch and the always-impressive Kim Gubser will round out the strong Swiss men’s squad.
Then there’s the Norwegians, lead by the explosive 19-year-old Birk Ruud. The second-overall big air World Cup finisher last season, Ruud currently leads the 2019/20 big air World Cup standings and made a little bit of history earlier this season in Beijing by winning at the future 2022 Olympic big air venue with a never-been-done-in-competition forward double cork 1800. With PyeongChang 2018 Olympic slopestlyle gold medallist Oeystein Braaten and 2017/18 big air crystal globe winner Christian Nummedal also on the roster, team Norge is looking good.
Kiernan Fagan and Cody Laplante of the USA, New Zealand’s Finn Bilous, and France’s own Antoine Adelisse are all potential threats come finals time in Font Romeu, as well.
With some wintery weather forecast for Friday morning, there is the possibility that men’s qualifications will be moved up to Thursday alongside the women. However, the forecast for Saturday looks positive, and the eight women, 16 men, two-run finals are expected to begin at 10:00 CET.
QUICK LINKS:
Font Romeu data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
*Correction: This article originally and incorrectly listed finals as three runs for the top six women and 10 men.
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