2020/21 season set to get underway with Stubai slopestyle
Nov 18, 2020·Freeski Park & Pipe
With just one day of training in the bag and some unfriendly weather forecast for Friday, qualifications at the season-opening FIS Freeski slopestyle World Cup Stubai (AUT) have been bumped forward one day to Thursday, with the women getting things underway at 9:30 CET, and the men following at noon. Saturday’s finals remain on schedule for an 11:30 start, where they’ll be broadcast live on ORF1 and online on Eurosport.
While it may sound like a quick turnaround to go from training to qualies in just one day, they vast majority of the athletes on hand in Stubai have been training heavily for several weeks now at various glacier camps around Europe and beyond, and are coming into this weekend’s competition primed and ready to go. And while the extensive covid-19 testing and safety measures have given this season’s first competition a slightly surreal feeling, unlike one we’ve ever seen at a FIS Freeski World Cup competition, the excitement of finally getting back to competition after an extended layoff means the vibe in and around the Stubai Zoo is overwhelmingly one of positivity.
Swiss trio will face strong challenges from Sildaru and Gu
The fields on hand for the both the women and men reflect this excitement to get back to business, with a heavy who’s-who of the slopestyle world back in the bib and ready to drop in on the perfectly-shaped Stubai park tomorrow.
For the women, that means all five of the skiers who finished at the top of last season’s slopestyle rankings are in Stubai, with crystal globe winner Sarah Hoefflin leading the way and her Swiss teammates Mathilde Gremaud and Giulia Tanno (fourth and fifth overall last season, respectively) also in strong shape and ready for action. Last season’s second overall Marin Hamill (USA) comes in as the top US hopeful, while last season’s third-overall finisher Johanne Killi (NOR) remains one of the strongest and most consistent skiers in world and a podium threat at any competition she enters.
However, last season’s top women will be looking over their shoulders at a slew of riders who didn’t compete much in 2019/20 but are on hand for this first event of 2020/21, including the winner of the 2018 edition of the Stubai slopestyle World Cup Kelly Sildaru of Estonia, and rising Chinese star Eileen Gu. Still both in their teens, Sildaru and Gu seem poised to dominate the freeski world for the foreseeable future, and will be looking for strong starts to the season in Stubai.
Jennie Lee Burmansson (SWE), Tess Ledeux (FRA) and Kirsty Muir (GBR) are three other young and exciting skiers to watch out for on the women’s side.
Ragettli could be tough to beat in season-opener
While there’s some notable names missing on the men’s start list, including last season’s fourth-overall slopestyle finisher Birk Ruud, and veteran James Woods (who participated in Wednesday’s training but won't be entering the competition), those who will be dropping in on Thursday’s qualifications bring no shortage of firepower.
Tops on the list is 2019/20 slopestyle crystal globe winner Andri Ragettli (SUI), as the Swiss star comes into Stubai looking looking like he’s reached another level since last season, if his social media posts through the autumn are any indication. Along with his teammate Fabian Boesch, who finished last season ranked third overall, and the women’s trio mentioned earlier, Andri and the Swiss have a strong shot at multiple podiums this Saturday.
Last season’s second-overall finisher Colby Stevenson leads the US men’s team, while two-time Olympic medallist Nick Goepper is also on hand and looking to do some damage, along with some notable young guns who will be looking to carve out a bigger name for themselves this season.
And though they’re missing top gunner Ruud in Stubai, the Norwegian team comes in as one of the strongest top to bottom, with reigning Olympic champion Oeystein Braaten, Christian Nummedal, Sebastien Schjerve and Ferdinand Dahl all among the world's elite.
Sweden’s Jesper Tjader and Henrik Harlaut remain two of the most entertaining skiers in the world at any venue, with Harlaut coming in as the reigning Stubai top dog after his win at the 2018/19 edition of the event. Meanwhile, skiers like Mark Hendrickson and Evan McEachran of Canada, Antoine Adelisse of France, and Lukas Muellauer of the host Austrians should also be in the mix, as well.
A huge amount of work went into ensuring that the premier event of the 2020/21 FIS Freeski World Cup season could take place this weekend in Stubai, and FIS is hugely grateful for the efforts and cooperation of our partners in Austria.
“The FIS Freeski World Cup is very well prepared despite the special circumstances,” said Erich Flatscher, head of the local organizing committee in Stubai, “Together with the ÖSV, we have developed a prevention concept based on the nationwide specifications, and have also taken measures that enable the event to be carried out professionally and safely. Thanks also to our partners - above all the Stubaier Gletscher mountain railways and the Stubai Tourist Association - we are in good spirits to be able to hold a great competition for the athletes next week, for whom their professional basis is also important.”
WATCH LIVE:
ORF1 (AUT), EUROSPORT 2, YLE (FIN), NOTV1 (NOR), SRG (SUI)
QUICK LINKS:
World Cup Stubai data page (programme, start lists, live scoring, results)
