Big Air World Cup season set to kick off in Kreischberg
Jan 06, 2021·Freeski Park & Pipe
After an extended break, 2020/21 FIS Freeski World Cup is finally set to get back to action with the first big air competition of the season, where we’ll be returning to the site of the 2015 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski world championships for nighttime competition this Saturday.
It may seem tough to believe now, but back when the Kreischberg 2015 world champs went down, Freeski big air wasn’t actually part of the World Cup programme yet, meaning that this will be the first time we get to see skiers take to the skies above the Kreischberg venue. However, while the jump is perfectly situated for spectators at the bottom of the resort and just meters from the parking lot, we won’t get to see the big crowds that could have been expected, due to reasons that we’re all far too familiar with at this point.
Still, even without the prospect of a big Austrian crowd bringing the party to a nighttime competition, there’s a whole lot of excitement around Kreischberg as the athletes gear up for the season’s first big air World Cup. And for the rest of us, there’s a whole lot of excitement to be had just by looking at those athletes’ names on the start list, as the roster of skiers on hand for the Kreischberg big air competition is as heavy as it gets.
Of course, the fact that this week’s event in Kreischberg is the first qualifier for next year’s Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games is certainly helping to fuel the fire here in Austria. The World Cup points gained this week could be some of the most important of an athlete’s career, and the start lists certainly reflect that.
Tanno, Sildaru, Killi a few of the favourites for the women
For the women, that means that nearly every skier who finished on the big air top-10 list last season is on hand this week, with 2019/20 crystal globe winner Giulia Tanno leading the way. Tanno’s teammate and last season’s second-overall skier Mathilde Gremaud, the ever-consistent Johanne Killi of Norway, Canada’s rising star Megan Oldham and the deeply experienced Silvia Bertagna of Italy round out the top of 2019/20, and are all also on hand and looking for a big start to the big air season here in Kreischberg.
However, everyone from the top of last year’s rankings is going to be looking over their shoulders in a big way, as Estonian star Kelly Sildaru is set to drop in on competition this week in Kreischberg for her first-ever big air World Cup. A two-time X Games medallist in big air and one of the freeski world’s fiercest competitors, Sildaru will be looking to make a statement come Friday.
Sarah Hoefflin (SUI), Megan Oldham (CAN), Margeux Hackett (NZL), and Kirsty Muir (GBR) are a few of the other names likely to make a splash on the women’s side this week.
Over on the men’s side, the start list is currently overflowing, with 60 names on the entry lists for qualifications and a handful more currently floating in the “reserve” category and hoping a spot opens up in the 60 before competition.
Ruud leads the way in the deep men’s field
Norway’s Birk Ruud comes into Kreischberg as the top dog after a truly incredible breakout season in 2019/20 that saw him win the big air crystal globe and also put up tremendous results in slopestyle and halfpipe.
While Ruud is one of the hand’s-down most exciting athletes in all of freeskiing right now, with one of the deepest and most entertaining bags of tricks, he’s going to be facing down a long list of skiers who are right there alongside him in talent and ability.
Start with the Swiss duo of Andri Ragettli (USA) and Fabian Boesch and then work your way down the list. Ragettli is the winningest athlete in freeski World Cup history and perhaps the most progressive technical skier in the world right now, while the explosive Boesch is returning to the venue where he became slopestyle world champion back in 2015 at the age of 17.
The look to the guys with tricks that simply can’t be imitated, like Alex Hall of the USA or Antoine Adeliese of France, or over to skiers on the cusp of greatness like Teal Harle (CAN) and Matej Svancer (CZE), or on the more under-the-radar rippers like Thibault Magnin (ESP) or Austria’s own Lukas Muellauer. And then there’s the heavy veterans - the hall-of-famers - guys like James Woods (GBR), Henrik Harlaut (SWE), and Nick Goepper (USA), all of whom are unarguable legends and looking to show the younger generation that they’ve still got the goods.
It’s going to be fun to see how it all shakes out over the next few days.
The three-run qualifications in Kreischberg begin on Thursday with the women at 11:30 CET. Friday will then see a huge day of action with the men’s qualifications beginning at 10:30, followed by night finals for both the women (6) and men (10) under the lights. at 17:55
QUICK LINKS:
Kreischberg data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
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