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X Games Aspen 2025 Preview

X Games Aspen 2025
Photo Courtesy of XGames.com

X Games Aspen 2025 Preview

While snow and freezing temperatures cover the country, winter sports lovers are turning their attention to Colorado for X Games Aspen 2025. This year’s Winter X Games are set to start on Thursday, Jan, 23, and will run through Saturday, Jan, 25. Over the three days, we will see the world’s best compete in 10 events including a new event in ski and snowboard street style. With the 2026 Winter Olympics a year away, this weekend will give everyone a chance to scout out the amazing skiers and snowboarders who could be heading to Italy next year. 

Skiing Events

Men’s and Women’s Big Air

If last year’s X Games Aspen Men’s Ski Big Air competition told us anything then we are in for a treat once again. A year ago American Troy Podmilsak jumped from last place to first place on his final run to steal the gold with a forward triple cork 2160 (three flips and six 360s). Competing alongside the defending X Games champ include Alex Hall (2022 X Games winner and defending World Cup champion), Mac Forehand (2023 X Games winner), and Birk Ruud (2019 X Games winner). However, a pair of 20-year-olds have been dominating this season. New Zealand’s Luca Harrington has won the last two FIS Freeski Big Air World Cup events, while Austrian Matěj Švancer won the first but has finished second and third in two other events.

On the women’s side of things, it has been a very different year with four different women winning each World Cup event. It is Italy’s Flora Tabanelli who sits atop the world ranking this season as the only one to have podiumed at all four events. It will be interesting to see how the 17-year-old does in her X Games debut after she won gold in big air at the 2024 Youth Winter Olympics. Standing in her way will be four-time winner and defending X Games champion Tess Ledeux. The other names to watch out for are Eileen Gu, Megan Oldham, and Rell Hardwood, the 2024 X Games Aspen bronze medalist.

Predictions

In a sport like Ski Big Air, all it takes is one run to steal gold and despite not having won an X Games Big Air medal yet, Švancer is my pick on the men’s side of things. It’ll be very hard to top Ledeux, but if anyone has the skill to, it will be China’s Gu who won gold in Big Air at the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Men’s and Women’s Superpipe

While some events are very competitive and have numerous people who could win, the X Games Aspen Ski Superpipe does not look to be that way. The hometown star Alex Ferreira has dominated the sport as of late. He won X Games gold last year on route to sweeping every halfpipe event in the world during the 2023-24 season and comes in having won the most recent World Cup event improving on his two second-place finishes. The two guys that beat him were Nick Goepper and Brendan Mackay. Sadly Goepper won’t be rocking the jeans at this year’s X Games. The big name missing out is Nico Porteous who has been ripping up the backcountry instead of competing this season.

While there are some guys who could make this exciting and potentially upset Ferreira, that is not at all the case on the women’s side. Eileen Gu has been dominating the event and sadly no one is really even close. The San Francisco-born Chinese skier has won virtually every halfpipe event she has entered the last few years and heads to Aspen looking for a second straight gold medal. I am looking to see if Zoe Atkin or Svea Irving can shock the skiing world. 

Prediction

Short and sweet but give me Ferreira in the men’s event and Gu in the women’s. 

Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle

Slopestyle brings together all aspects of the terrain park with both rails and jumps. This results in a very intriguing competition set for X Games Aspen 2025. All of the big dogs are returning from a year ago including all three medalists in Birk Ruud (gold), Alex Hall (silver), and Mac Forehand (bronze). A lot can change in a year but Norway’s Birk Ruud has continued balling out. He currently leads the FIS Slopestyle World Cup standings after winning in Laax, Switzerland last week. Utah’s Colby Stevenson won the other World Cup event and has all the tools to get back his X Games gold medal from two years ago. 

Over their two World Cup events this year, five different women have graced the podium with Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud being the only one to have found herself there both times. She is still looking to break through for gold in slopestyle in Aspen. Gremaud has finished second in the event the last three years. Twice it was Tess Ledeux spoiling her party and in 2023 Megan Oldham took home the gold. Another skier to watch for is Sarah Hoefflin, who is the oldest female skier competing at X Games Aspen having been born in 1991. She has five career X Games medals but has not won one in slopestyle since winning silver in 2020. 

Predictions

This is by far my favorite event in skiing and I am pumped to watch it. Colby Stevenson is my pick to take gold on the men’s side, while I’m leaning towards Mathilde Gremaud to finally get her X Games Slopestyle gold. 

Men’s and Women’s Knuckle Huck

Knuckle Huck has established itself as a staple event at X Games Aspen. Some of the staples of the Men’s Knuckle Huck competition will not be competing in Aspen this weekend. 2021 gold medalist Henrik Harlaut and 2022 gold medalist Quinn Wolferman will both be watching from the side. This opens up space for guys that don’t typically compete in competitions like Mikkel Brusletto Kaupang who hasn’t skied in an FIS event since 2022. The defending champion in Colby Stevenson will lead the hunt for gold alongside Swedish skier Jesper Tjader, who has two Knuckle Huck medals on his X Games resumé.

This will be the second year that X Games has held Knuckle Huck for the women. The inaugural event was won by Canada’s Olivia Asselin who will be competing in four events at X Games Aspen 2025. Following her on the podium were Rell Harwood and Sarah Hoefflin, both returning for another crack at gold. The skier to watch out for as a dark horse in this event is Bella Bacon. The X Games rookie has some of the best style of any female skier out there, and this after all is a major style event. 

Prediction

This is a steezy event, to say the least. There are numerous skiers that could win on both sides. However, I am going with Jesper Tjäder to return to the top of Knuckle Huck while Bella Bacon is going to steal the show in her rookie outing.

Men’s and Women’s Street Style

The newest event at the Winter X Games is Street Style. Street skiing is one that is not typically judged, last year they did an exhibition event at X Games 2024. Usually, street skiing is exactly what it sounds like skiers will go wherever they can and find sick features to ski on whether it’s stairs, tables, bridges… you get the point. This year in Aspen it will be a medaled event and the course is set up for some exciting tricks. The format is two four-person semifinals with the top two from each heat advancing to the final.

As far as the competitors go on the men’s side look out for Alex Hall who is looking to win X Games gold in a fifth different event. Colby Stevenson is another big name competing in Street Style. Some dark horses to watch out for include Siver Voll, whose Instagram is full of him hitting some gnarly rails, and Tucker Fitzsimons, who recently finished first in a rail jam event.

Eileen Gu once again leads the way on the women’s side of things. She just won the X Games Street Style Pro event at Copper back in December ahead of Eleanor Andrews and Marion Balsamo. Despite a rough showing Bella Bacon is still one of the most creative skiers when it comes to hitting rails and a tough comp last time out should have her ready to throw down in Aspen.

Predictions

Colby Stevenson is coming off a win at Copper, but I see Alex Hall getting the win at X Games. I also have Eileen Gu and Bella Bacon battling it out but giving the edge to the stylish Bacon. 

Snowboard Events

Men’s and Women’s Big Air

After struggling in his first couple of X Games, Taiga Hasegawa reached the peak last year by winning gold in Big Air. The 19-year-old Japanese rider has continued to thrive on the FIS Snowboard World Cup scene. He has two wins and a second-place finish after four events, currently leading the battle for first. However, to get his second straight gold he’ll have to get past Marcus Kleveland. The Norwegian is competing in three events at X Games Aspen 2025 and looks to continue his dominance in Big Air in which he won three-straight golds before not competing at last year’s edition. The other guy who could be on the podium is Mark McMorris, who has won the most Winter X Games medals ever with 23. The Canadian McMorris also did not compete last year.

As exciting as the men’s competition will be, the ladies may have them beat. British rider Mia Brookes has been turning up this season with two wins so far. While the defending X Games champion Kokomo Murase is looking to run it back against a loaded field. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is looking to match her 2022 gold medal performance, Anna Gasser has two X Games Big Air golds and a bronze last year, and Reira Iwabuchi is trying to win her sixth medal. This should be a fun one. 

Predictions

This is going to be a banger. In the men’s competition, I am going with Marcus Kleveland. On the women’s side, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is my pick to take gold. 

Men’s and Women’s Superpipe

This is the main event of the weekend in my opinion. The Men’s Snowboard Superpipe competition is stacked. Scotty James vs Japan sums it up. The Aussie ripper has won six X Games golds including five of the last six. The only man to beat him was Yuto Totsuka in 2021. Totsuka and a pair of Hirano’s (unrelated) are looking to take the podium by storm. Ruka Hirano has a pair of X Games medals while also winning the World Cup Crystal Globe last season. Ayumu Hirano won X Games gold twice in 2018 and 2016, he also won Olympic gold over James in 2022. 

The women’s side of things is a bit more straightforward. Simply put, if Chloe Kim competes she usually wins. She has been in nine X Games and has nine medals, seven of which are gold. She is also two for two in both the Winter Olympics and World Championships. Unless she falters like she did at the Copper World Cup this season where Sara Shimizu of Japan won. Other riders fighting for the podium are the current World Cup leader Maddie Mastro and last season’s Crystal Globe winner Mitsuki Ono.

Predictions

Two heavy favorites looking to retain what’s theirs. Just like the skiing counterpart, this is very easy. I’ve got Scotty James and Chloe Kim.

Men’s and Women’s Slopestyle

Amidst giants of the sport such as Red Gerard, Mark McMorris, and Marcus Kleveland, it has been Cameron Spalding who has won both FIS World Cup events. However, Spalding was not invited to X Games Aspen 2025 so that’s a big loss for all of us. That leaves a three-man battle for the top spot with the likes of last year’s bronze medalist Mons Røisland fighting behind. He and Gerard have both finished second behind Spalding this season. Then there is McMorris who has seven X Games golds in Slopestyle and missed out on a third-straight gold when falling to Gerard last X Games. 

This has been the year of two stars in women’s snowboarding, Kokomo Murase and Mia Brookes. I’ve mentioned them before and am going to again because they are both so good at every aspect of snowboarding. Both also finished on the podium last year with Brookes winning gold and Murase silver. However, there is a rider who is back at X Games Aspen after a year off. Zoi Sydowski-Synnott has won Slopestyle gold four times with back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023. The Kiwi won gold in this event at the 2022 Winter Olympics as well. 

Predictions

This seems likely to be a very competitive event. My pick in the men’s competition is Gerard because he seems to be killing it more this year than McMorris. For the women’s side, I am taking Sydowski-Synnott to complete the double with a Big Air win. 

Men’s and Women’s Knuckle Huck

As mentioned in both Snowboard Big Air and Slopestyle, Marcus Kleveland is a problem. Knuckle Huck is just another competition the 25-year-old has dominated. Before not competing last time around Kleveland won back-to-back golds in this event. In his way are three riders who have held gold on this stage. Zeb Powell, Dusty Henricksen, and Liam Brearly, the defending champ, all have some tricks up their sleeves to steal the medal from the Norwegian. 

Last year we saw Women’s Knuckle Huck for the first time and Kokomo Murase took the gold, Annika Morgan the silver, and Egan Wint the bronze. However, this time there are some other riders who could put pressure on those three including Mia Brookes and Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir, who would become the first woman from Iceland to win an X Games medal if she podiums in her rookie event.

Predictions

Zeb Powell is one of the most stylish snowboarders out there and this is his event. I am taking him to edge out Kleveland for gold. The advantage Kokomo has over some of the others is her ability to pull Big Air tricks out off the knuckle. For that reason, I am taking her to defend her title. 

Men’s and Women’s Street Style

Just like its skiing counterpart, Snowboard Street Style will be a medaled event for the first time at X Games. There too was a street event that recently took place at Copper Mountain. Frank Jobin of Canada took the win over LJ Henriquez, Benny Milam, and Pat Fava. Fava is the favorite to win gold in Aspen after winning the exhibition event at last year’s X Games Aspen. Another rider to keep an eye on is the always-fun Zeb Powell.

As far as the women’s comp goes. All three podium finishers from the Street Style Pro event at Copper will be taking their talents to Aspen. Iris Pham, Alexis Hernandez-Roland, and Lily Dhawornvej will be joined by last year’s exhibition winner Grace Warner, and the talented Mia Brookes. 

Predictions

Pat Fava has dominated rail competitions the last few years and will win again this time at X Games Aspen. On the women’s side, it is hard to tell but I am leaning toward Lily Dhawornvej who is coming off an 8th-place finish in her first-ever slopestyle World Cup event just last week. 

***

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