The best riders are cited in Tignes (And Part IV)

The absence for injury of Bobby Brown, leaves the Men's Ski Slopstyle very open with Nick Goepper and Tom Wallisch as favorites

Only 24 hours to start the last event of the year of Winter X Games. Tignes prepares to see one of the most competitive championships in history. But if there is a discipline in which the level will be more even, that is the men’s Ski Slopestyle. With the absence through injury of one of the great champions of the discipline, the American Bobby Brown, the championshis is very open.

Nick Goepper was the only rookie and youngest in the Slopestyle field (17) at Winter X Games 2012. But that didn’t bother him as he took silver. This gifted and versatile young skier is known as a consistent athlete, which was highlighted during the 2011 and 2012 Dew Tour season as he made the podium at every stop. Most recently, Goepper took home the slopestyle gold at the 2013 X Games Aspen.

Another important name is the American Tom Wallisch, which in 2012 had super manga with his amplitude and big jumps. One more: the Norwegian Andreas Hatveit. Probably, he is the skier with more power and strength, which gives him a brutal force in his jumps and he is the best in the outputs of the railings. In the latest edition, the Norway was fifth in Aspen but he was unhappy with the result. In Tignes he will try to keep the medal in Europe.

James Woods impressed with his relaxed style and earned bronze in Slopestyle in Winter X Games in 2011, his nation’s first slopestyle skiing medal at a major championships. A so-called 'fridge kid' because he learned to ski on an indoor slope in the UK, Woods received the 2011 British Olympic Association Athlete of the Year for skiing. His win in Colorado in the World Cup means he becomes the first British skier to win back-to-back World Cups and lead the world rankings.

In women we have two big names: Tiril Christiansen and Dara Howell. The first is the current champion of the discipline, which by the way, she was the youngest woman who got a gold medal in Winter X Games. On the other hand, the American Howell is proving total progression and she demonstrated it this year in Aspen with the bronze.

The most dominant female in slopestyle's young history is Kaya Turski, who has struck gold at five consecutive events: Winter X Games 2010-2012 and Winter X Games Europe 2010 and 2011. Like any good Quebecois she has superb rail skills, something which distinguishes her from other women. At the 2010 Winter X Games in Aspen, she took gold with the highest ever slopestyle score at a Winter X Games with 96.66.