FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup season set to launch in Stubai

Nov 20, 2024·Freeski Park & Pipe

Official training at Stubai ahead of the FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup © Buchholz/@fisparkandpipe

Excitement and fresh snow are building up on Austria’s Stubai Glacier as the world’s best skiers get ready for the first event of the FIS Freeski Slopestyle World Cup 2024/25 season.

The slopestyle season opener returns to Stubai for an eighth edition this week, with freeskiing’s finest taking to the world-famous Stubai Zoo Snowpark on Wednesday for official training and a mixed-bag forecast for the coming days leading to a revamped schedule for the week’s competition.

Snow and sun, wind and calm, fog and clear skies - the weather forecast for Stubai over the coming days truly has a little bit of everything.

With that uncertainty looming over proceedings, the men’s qualifications originally scheduled for Friday have been bumped up to Thursday between 10:45 and 12:45 CET, while the women’s qualifications are slated for Friday and the finals planned for Saturday.

At the time of writing, Saturday looks to have the most favourable weather of the competition window.

After last season’s Stubai finals were cancelled due to a difficult weather situation, fingers are crossed and all hands are on deck to ensure this season’s event is completed in full.

Among the star-studded field gearing up to grab the first slopestyle points of a new Olympic qualification period are the USA’s Mac Forehand, who leads a field of 64 skiers from 20 countries.

Forehand topped the 2023/24 slopestyle World Cup season after finishing within the top five in all five events, including one win and two runner-up finishes, helping him to claim his second career crystal globe after topping the overall 2018/19 season as a 17-year-old.

Forehand is joined by compatriot and Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games slopestyle champion Alex Hall, whose accolades include 11 X Games podium finishes, five of which are gold medals. Hall finished just back of Forehand on the World Cup slopestyle rankings last season, while nabbing his first career Crystal Globe by topping the big air season rankings.

Swiss ski star Andri Ragettli will be hoping to shake off his 28th place finish at Big Air Chur in October, while Beijing 2022 men’s big air champion Birk Ruud (NOR) is aiming for a third Stubai slopestyle victory after winning the 2021 and 2022 events.

Other names to watch in the men’s competition are Beijing 2022 slopestyle bronze medallist Jesper Tjader (SWE) and Norwegian sensation Tormod Frostad, fresh off a second-place finish at Big Air Chur 2024. Frostad was runner-up in Chur behind Matej Svancer (AUT), whose big air victory and home advantage could prove to be a winning combination in Stubai.

The women’s competition is set to be paced by powerhouse Mathilde Gremaud, who opened the Freeski World Cup season in October by winning the women’s Big Air Chur 2024. The 24-year-old comes into action in Stubai as the reigning Olympic and World Championships gold medallist, and is looking to defend her triple crystal globe 2023/24 season in which she topped the rankings in slopestyle, big air and Freeski overall at season end.

Hot on Gremaud’s tails is France’s Tess Ledeux, who counts 11 World Cup slopestyle victories and 15 top-three finishes among her many achievements. The 22-year-old is set to turn 23 on finals day Saturday, and will be looking for a little birthday magic to carry through some of the momentum from her back-to-back slopestyle World Cup victories from last season.

Many eyes will also be on this year’s Big Air Chur runner-up Flora Tabanelli (ITA). The 17-year-old won the big air and slopestyle events at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Winter Games in January before claiming the slopestyle title at the Australian New Zealand Cup Premium event in Cardrona in September as part of a seamless transition from junior to senior competition.

Tabanelli will also be joined by Germany’s Muriel Mohr, who finished third behind the Italian at Big Air Chur 2024.

Estonia’s Kelly Sildaru, 22, is another one to watch as she aims to add to her five FIS Slopestyle World Cup victories since 2017. Sildaru’s 10 X Games medals – including six gold; four in slopestyle – make her the most decorated female skier in X Games history.

Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin is also a slopestyle force to be reckoned with thanks to her 11 World Cup podium finishes, including three victories and seven runner-up finishes. The Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic gold medallist, Hoefflin remains one of the most versatile and consistent skiers on the women’s FIS Freeski World Cup.

A total of 29 skiers from 13 countries will contest the women’s event at Stubai. The women’s qualification round is scheduled to begin on Friday morning.

The finals will begin at 11:15 CET on Saturday.

SLOPESTYLE FACTS & FIGURES

Tess Ledeux (FRA) has 15 top-three World Cup finishes: 11 wins, three in second place, one in third place.
Mathilde Gremaud (SUI) has won five World Cup events for a total of 12 podium finishes.
Andri Ragettli (SUI) has 22 World Cup podium finishes: 11 victories, six in second place, five in third place.
Colby Stevenson (USA) and Birk Ruud (NOR) each have 10 top-three World Cup finishes. Ruud has won eight World Cup events since 2020.