Tignes Freeski Big Air World Cup: Stats Preview

● Tignes (FRA) is the last of four Freeski Big Air World Cup events in the 2025/26 FIS Freeski Park and Pipe season after Secret Garden (CHN) in November, Beijing (CHN) in December and Steamboat (USA) in January.

● Tignes has previously hosted the Freeski Big Air World Cup season finale twice, in 2024 and 2025.

● This year’s Tignes Freeski Big Air World Cup is the first event after the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February. Megan Oldham (CAN) won Olympic Freeski Big Air gold at Milano Cortina 2026 to give Canada its first Olympic Freeski Big Air medal, men or women. Eileen Gu (CHN) finished second to become the first athlete to claim a medal in both Olympic Freeski Big Air events to date after Gu won the inaugural women’s gold at Beijing 2022. Flora Tabanelli (ITA) secured bronze, which was Italy’s first Olympic Freeski medal, men or women.

● In the men’s competition at Milano Cortina 2026, Tormod Frostad (NOR) won gold, making it two-for-two for Norway in the Olympic Freeski Big Air events: Birk Ruud (NOR) was Olympic champion at Beijing 2022. Mac Forehand (USA) finished second to give Team USA its second consecutive Olympic Freeski Big Air silver medal. It is the only Olympic Freeski event where U.S. skiers have never won. Matej Svancer (AUT) was third, claiming Austria’s first Olympic Freeski Park and Pipe medal, men or women.

Men

● Troy Podmilsak (USA) leads the 2025/26 Freeski Big Air World Cup standings on 200 points after two victories from three events. Luca Harrington (NZL) also has 200 points from three podiums. Ulrik Samnoey (NOR) is third on 129 points. Harrington is not competing in Tignes.

● Troy Podmilsak (USA) won the last Freeski Big Air World Cup event in January before Milano Cortina 2026, in Steamboat (USA) ahead of Konnor Ralph (USA) and Luca Harrington (NZL) in third place.

● Steamboat was Troy Podmilsak’s (USA) second career World Cup win. Before 2025/26, his best World Cup finish was third in Chur (SUI) in 2022/23, and more recently he was fourth in 2024/25 in Tignes (FRA). However, Podmilsak was the Bakuriani 2023 Big Air World Champion, which he followed up in 2024 by claiming X Games big air gold. Podmilsak finished fourth in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Freeski Big Air final.

● Troy Podmilsak (USA) is now second on the list of U.S. skiers with the most World Cup Big Air victories on two, and second  on the list for most World Cup podium finishes on three. Alex Hall (USA) leads both lists with four wins and six podiums.

● Konnor Ralph (USA) recorded his career best World Cup result in Steamboat with second place, which was also his second Big Air World Cup podium. His previous best World Cup result was third in Aspen in 2024/25. Ralph also has a third-place finish in Freeski Slopestyle at the 2023/24  Tignes season finale.

● Luca Harrington (NZL), the current Freeski Big Air World Champion, claimed his seventh consecutive Freeski Big Air podium in Steamboat. This streak is longer than any other nation’s run of consecutive podiums. Before Harrington, the longest streak of five podium finishes by a nation was recorded by Switzerland between 2015/16 and 2016/17 with contributions from Kai Mahler, Luca Schuler, Fabian Boesch, Jonas Hunziker and Andri Ragettli.

● Birk Ruud (NOR) leads the men’s all-time list of Freeski Big Air World Cup podium finishes with 12 podiums.  Andri Ragettli (SUI) is second with nine. Milano Cortina 2026 Freeski Big AIr bronze medallist Matej Svancer (AUT) is equal third with Luca Harrington (NZL) on seven podium finishes.

● Matej Svancer (AUT) needs two more top-10 results to join Elias Syrja (FIN) in third place for the most Freeski Big Air World Cup top-10 finishes. Birk Ruud (NOR) and Andri Ragettli (SUI) are equal first with 21 top-10 finishes each.

● Miro Tabanelli (ITA) won the previous Tignes Freeski Big Air World Cup event in 2024/25, ahead of Mac Forehand (USA) and Luca Harrington (NZL).

● No skier has managed to claim consecutive podium finishes at the previous World Cup events in Tignes. Only U.S. athletes have featured on the Tignes podium at both events: Alex Hall won in 2023/24, and Mac Forehand was second in 2024/25.

Women

● Naomi Urness (CAN) leads the 2025/26 Freeski Big Air World Cup season standings on 240 points. Kirsty Muir (GBR) is second with 179 points, and Liu Mengting (CHN) is third with 160 points. Liu is not competing in Tignes.

● Naomi Urness (CAN) needs a finish of sixth place or better to claim the 2025/26 Freeski Big Air Crystal Globe. 

● Naomi Urness (CAN) won the previous Freeski Big Air World Cup event in Steamboat in January ahead of Kateryna Kotsar (UKR) and Ruyi Yang (CHN) in third place.

● Steamboat marked the first World Cup victory for Naomi Urness (CAN). She has claimed a podium finish in all three of her Freeski Big Air World Cup starts. Urness finished sixth in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Freeski Big Air final in February.

● Naomi Urness joined Elena Gaskell in first place on the list of Canadian women with the most Freeski Big Air World Cup podiums at three apiece. Urness needs one more podium to catch up with compatriots Dylan Deschamps and Teal Harle, who have the most podiums across men’s and women’s competition respectively with four each.

● Kateryna Kotsar (UKR) claimed her first World Cup podium finish in Steamboat. Her previous best result was fifth place in Chur in 2023/24. Kotsar was 10th in the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Freeski Big Air final.

● Kateryna Kotsar (UKR) is the first Ukrainian athlete to claim a podium finish on the FIS Freeski Park & Pipe World Cup circuit. Before Steamboat, no Ukrainian athlete, male or female, had recorded a World Cup victory across Freeski Big Air, Freeski Slopestyle, or Freeski Halfpipe.

● Ruyi Yang (CHN) claimed her first career Freeski Big Air World Cup podium finish in Steamboat. Her previous best Freeski Big Air result was fourth place in Chur 2024/25. She also has one podium finish in Freeski Slopestyle: second in Stoneham (CAN) in 2024/25.

● Avery Krumme (USA) was fourth in her first Freeski Big Air World Cup start in Steamboat in January.

● Canadian and Chinese athletes have featured on the podium of all three Freeski Big Air World Cup events thus far this season. Naomi Urness is responsible for all three Canadian podiums (second in Secret Garden, third in Beijing and first in Steamboat). Liu Mengting was third in Secret Garden and third in Beijing; team-mate Ruyi Yang was third in Steamboat.

● Flora Tabanelli (ITA) won the previous Tignes Freeski Big Air World Cup event in 2024/25, ahead of Tess Ledeux (FRA) and Anni Karava (FIN). Tabanelli will not be competing in Tignes this week as she recovers from knee surgery.

● Flora Tabanelli (ITA) is the only athlete to claim a podium finish at both of the previous Tignes Freeski Big Air World Cup events. She won in 2024/25 and finished third in 2023/24.

● Tess Ledeux (FRA) is the last French athlete to win a Freeski Big Air World Cup event (Beijing in 2024/25) and the second most successful woman on the FIS Freeski Park and Pipe World Cup circuit with 17 wins (four in Freeski Big Air, 13 in Freeski Slopestyle). Ledeux has not competed this season as she recovers from injury.