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Tignes X Games 2013: Event Preview

Who to look out for in this year's event

featured in News & reviews Author Sophie Nicholson, Val d'Isere Editor Updated

The X Games in Tignes are without a doubt the highlight of the winter season here in L’Espace Killy and with just one day to go until the event kicks off, the town is buzzing and jumping with anticipation.

150 of the best skiers and snowboarders on the planet are already in Tignes, preparing to entertain and inspire not just the massive crowds expected in resort but also the whole action sports community worldwide. It doesn't get much bigger than the X Games and all eyes are set to be firmly focused on Tignes when the 3 day event finally gets underway on Wednesday.

The recent disappointing news that global snowboard superstar Shaun White would not be taking part in this year’s event has long been forgotten especially as there is a new kid on the block - our own hero from the UK James ‘Woodsy’ Woods. Woodsy has quite literally taken the freestyle skiing world by storm this year and is currently sitting pretty at the top of the overall slopestyle rankings. With numerous X Games medals already under his belt combined with his current run of impressive form, big things are understandably expected of the 21 year old from Sheffield here in Tignes and we’re really hoping he can deliver. To join us and cheer Woodsy on to glory, make sure you’re watching on Thursday afternoon when the Mens Ski Slopestyle finals take place.

The main event actually kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday) with the Womens Ski Slopestyle Competition. The incredibly talented 17 year old Norwegian skier Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen is the one to watch here - especially as she is a fan of the kind of jumps we have here in Tignes – ie big! The current overall leader on the Association of Freeskiing Professionals' World Tour, Christiansen may be young but is definitely the girl to beat in the first event of the Tignes X Games 2013.

The second event on Day 1 in Tignes is the Womens Snowboard Superpipe Final and we’re hoping for a continuation of the battle between Kelly Clark and Elena Hight. Both these girls are really pushing the boundaries of the sport with Hight landing the first ever double cork in the women’s pipe earlier this year at the X Games in Aspen but still having to settle for silver behind Clark. With Arielle Gold, Torah Bright and Kaitlyn Farrington also in the line up, the second event on Day 1 looks set to impress.

After Woodsy makes his play for gold on Thursday afternoon, the focus switches to the big one – the Mens Snowboard Superpipe Final. With last year’s Champion Shaun White staying home to focus on training and Japanese rider and 2013 WST halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano also out with flu, all eyes will be on French rider Aluan Ricciardi. Ricciardi may have home advantage but if he can’t make the most of it, it’s worth also watching out for the incredibly talented Swiss rider Iouri ‘I-Pod’ Podladtchikov. ‘I-Pod’ recently won The Arctic Challenge in Norway and has his own signature trick - a variation of a frontside double cork 1440, known as the YOLO flip.

Day 3 plays host to four finals – the Mens and Womens Snowboard Slopestyle and Ski Superpipe Events. 2013 World Snowboard Tour champ Mark McMorris is the current guy in form and his 98.00 in Aspen gives him bragging rights to the highest scoring slopestyle run in X Games history. The girls are up next and the one to watch will be the reigning queen of Womens Snowboard Slopestyle - Jamie Anderson. If rumours are to be believed, we might be treated to the first double corks in women’s competition….watch this space.

The French will be hoping for success in both the Mens and Womens Ski Superpipe events. Kevin Rolland, Thomas Krief and Joffrey Pollet-Villard will all be looking to make the most of their home advantage in the men’s Finals but will have to get past some serious talent from the US first. In the women’s event, the home crowd will be behind local rider Anais Caradeux, currently in 3rd place on the AFP World Tour. If she doesn’t come up with the goods then Aspen gold medalist Maddie Bowman and silver medalist Roz Groenewoud will definitely be contenders. These two are currently ranked in first and second positions on the AFP World Tour and have been battling it out all season. Fingers crossed they bring their top game to Tignes as we could be in for a seriously entertaining contest to finish off this year’s event.

So if you're lucky enough to be in Tignes this week then make sure you head over to the Double M piste in Val Claret to experience all the X Games action first hand. If you’re not going to make it, don’t worry – you can watch it on a live stream and we’ll be keeping you up to date with all the latest developments via our Facebook page and here at Tignesnet.com.

There’s sun on the forecast, it’s going to be a belter - let the Games commence…..