World Cup Big Air season kicks off in Secret Garden, China

The Jump

The brand new jump has been mostly well received by the riders during the first few days of training. However, the way the jump is oriented, in the afternoon the landing is in the shade. Apparently this has sometimes made it difficult to spot the landing and know exactly where you are in relation to the ground. Snowboarder Nico Huber, has had a scary crash in training, landing on his back. Alleged he walked away with assistance, but has sustained a vertebrae injury.

Due to high winds on Sunday, the finals have been pushed forward to early Saturday morning, so the light should not be an issue—except for those in Europe who will be waking up early to follow the live stream.

The Start List

In such a big year for many riders, the race to get fit—and stay fit—is a key one. After a long string of injuries, Guilia Tanno is returning to the bib as she makes her bid for an Olympic spot. Kirsty Muir is also back to full force, qualifying in first place having missed most of last season with a knee injury.

Headline news from the men’s field though is the return of Henrik Harlaut to a World Cup Big Air for the first time in four years. Henrik missed most of last season after dislocating his hip on the airbag last autumn. Henrik did not make it to finals but, having given the sport some of its most iconic moments both on course and in the finish corral, it’s great to see him back.

On the other side of the coin, Italian sensation and winner of the last Big Air of the 2025 season in Tignes, Flora Tabanelli has blown her knee during pre-season training. With the Olympics just around the corner, and it taking place in her home town of Livigno, this is a brutal setback for the young rider. 

The Debate

Luca Harrington had the season of his life last year: FIS Crystal Globe winner in Big Air, and X Games gold and silver. His success was largely down to his outrageous grab game. Luca was ripping the edges off his skis and somehow managed to hold on until he was basically landing on his fingers. This is not to say he is miles out in front, as there seems to be at least ten other riders who have the tricks to podium at any given contest.

In 2023, the big air scene blew right open with the advent of single flip pull-back rotations. Since then, as more riders have worked out these types of rotations, they have fallen slightly out of fashion and favour with the judges. 

All creativity is not lost though. Last year, winning tricks all had elements of originality to them: be it Tormod Frostad’s switch tail butter double bio or Matej’s nollie triple corks. Unless you are Miro Tabanelli and have access to a flux capacitor, just spinning and grabbing is no longer enough.  Tricks need to have a special something: a butter, a pull-back or something that distinguishes it from the bag of insane tricks getting stomped. This year riders are going to be adding extra seasonings to the biggest spins out there. 

Execution will be everything though, the judges will be hyper focused on whether a butter is a real butter. They will be looking for a proper flex of the ski on take off, rather than just a rushed pre-spin, especially when it comes to tail butters. The nuance involved in trying to evaluate the quickest, most fleeting moment of a trick means the judges have their work cut out—and there will be without a doubt some debates that crop up. 

This has played out already with Frenchman Matias Roche winning the qualification by some distance. His perfectly executed left nose butter triple cork 1920 safety was a thing of beauty. His is the standard for a proper nose butter: carving in, 180 degrees off the take off and snapping his noses. Qualification was a heavy affair, but without a doubt some riders will have some ammunition up their sleeves for the finals.

Finals have been pulled back to early Saturday morning. You can watch live on FIS.TV or on Youtube by setting your VPN to Switzerland.