2021/22 FIS Snowboard halfpipe World Cup season preview

Rounding out the big three for Japan is Ayumu Hirano, the PyeongChang 2018 and Sochi 2014 Olympic silver medallist. Like White, Ayumu did not drop in on a halfpipe competition for three years following his performance in Korea, and even then he only has an open-class FIS start to his name as well a win at the Japanese National Championships to finish off last season. Still, like his compatriots Totsuka and Ruka Hirano, he stomped a clean triple cork in the pipe this autumn, showing the world he’s ready to make another podium push at Beijing in February.

We’ve gotten this far and we haven’t even really gotten to the elephant in the room – Australia’s Scotty James.

When White and Ayumu stepped back from competition after PyeongChang, James stepped up in a big way, going on a 12-competition win streak that included World Championships, X Games, US Open, Dew Tour and a multitude of World Cup wins.

However, since relinquishing the top of the podium to Ruka Hirano in Calgary, the wins have been hard to come by for James, and while his Japanese rivals were announcing their progression to the world with their clips of triples this autumn, James was strangely quiet.

That doesn’t mean the rumour mill hasn’t been churning, though, and there are whispers that James has been training at a secret location, locking down as many as three different triple cork variations of his own. Unfortunately, James isn’t on the start list for the season-opener in Copper, so the truth to those rumours remains to be seen.

There are, of course, many other to watch out for this season, with Germany’s Andre Hoefflich leading that list after earning his first career World Cup podium at the season-ender in Aspen last March. Jan Scherrer and David Habluetzel of Switzerland, big-boosting Valentino Guseli of Australia, and the USA’s Taylor Gold, Chase Blackwell and Joey Okesson could all make some noise this season, as well.

It all gets underway with qualifications at Copper this Thursday, and we can’t wait to see how everything shakes out.

QUICK LINKS: