{"id":2453609,"date":"2020-01-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=319566"},"modified":"2020-01-23T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T16:00:00","slug":"predicting-the-ski-and-snowboard-winners-for-x-games-aspen-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/predicting-the-ski-and-snowboard-winners-for-x-games-aspen-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Predicting the ski and snowboard winners for X Games Aspen 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8940011648224\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-319566-636\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily | Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily | Maddie Mastro celebrates with her friend, Anne Jackson, after her run during the women's superpipe finals during the Burton U.S. Open last year in Vail. She'll be the favorite to win at X Games Aspen this winter.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Maddie Mastro celebrates with her friend, Anne Jackson, after her run during the women&#8217;s superpipe finals during the Burton U.S. Open last year in Vail. She&#8217;ll be the favorite to win at X Games Aspen this winter.<\/strong><br \/>Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily | Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Maddie Mastro celebrates with her friend, Anne Jackson, after her run during the women's superpipe finals during the Burton U.S. Open last year in Vail. She'll be the favorite to win at X Games Aspen this winter.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse \/ The Aspen Times | Chris Corning of Silverthorne executes a trick down the tear-drop rail at X Games Aspen 2019 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen last January.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Chris Corning of Silverthorne executes a trick down the tear-drop rail at X Games Aspen 2019 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen last January.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Chris Corning of Silverthorne executes a trick down the tear-drop rail at X Games Aspen 2019 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen last January.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-2-683x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily | Chloe Kim throws a huge method grab during the Women's Halfpipe Finals for the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships Saturday, March, 2, in Vail. Kim took second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Chloe Kim throws a huge method grab during the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Finals for the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships Saturday, March, 2, in Vail. Kim took second.<\/strong><br \/>Barry Eckhaus | Special to the Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-2-683x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Chloe Kim throws a huge method grab during the Women's Halfpipe Finals for the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships Saturday, March, 2, in Vail. Kim took second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-3-682x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | \" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-3-682x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-4-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | Alex Hall smiles after winning the men's ski slopestyle finals at X Games Aspen on Sunday.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Alex Hall smiles after winning the men&#8217;s ski slopestyle finals at X Games Aspen on Sunday.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-4-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Alex Hall smiles after winning the men's ski slopestyle finals at X Games Aspen on Sunday.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-5-1024x632.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chris Dillman\/Vail Daily | Red Gerard grabs off the hip hit during the Slopestyle Qualifiers on Thursday, Jan. 25, in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Red Gerard grabs off the hip hit during the Slopestyle Qualifiers on Thursday, Jan. 25, in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Chris Dillman\/Vail Daily<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-5-1024x632.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Red Gerard grabs off the hip hit during the Slopestyle Qualifiers on Thursday, Jan. 25, in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | U.S. halfpipe skier Maddie Bowman, the reigning Olympic gold medalist taking a practice run Wednesday night at the Aspen X Games superpipe at Buttermilk.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>U.S. halfpipe skier Maddie Bowman, the reigning Olympic gold medalist taking a practice run Wednesday night at the Aspen X Games superpipe at Buttermilk.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"U.S. halfpipe skier Maddie Bowman, the reigning Olympic gold medalist taking a practice run Wednesday night at the Aspen X Games superpipe at Buttermilk.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-8-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-8-1024x656.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com | Maddie Mastro Tail grabs during the Women's Halfpipe Finals for the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships on Saturday, March 10, in Vail. Mastro took second.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Maddie Mastro Tail grabs during the Women&#8217;s Halfpipe Finals for the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships on Saturday, March 10, in Vail. Mastro took second.<\/strong><br \/>Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-8-1024x656.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Maddie Mastro Tail grabs during the Women's Halfpipe Finals for the Burton U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships on Saturday, March 10, in Vail. Mastro took second.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-9-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-9-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | U.S. snowboard slopestyle medalist Jamie Anderson secured first place on January 26, 2018 at the X Games in Aspen with a score of 94 on her second run out of 3.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>U.S. snowboard slopestyle medalist Jamie Anderson secured first place on January 26, 2018 at the X Games in Aspen with a score of 94 on her second run out of 3.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-9-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"U.S. snowboard slopestyle medalist Jamie Anderson secured first place on January 26, 2018 at the X Games in Aspen with a score of 94 on her second run out of 3.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-10-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-10-682x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\" | \" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-10-682x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-12-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-12-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times | Alex Ferreira celebrates with friends and his mother, Colleen Delia, right, at the bottom of the X Games superpipe after he took first place on Thursday night in the men's ski superpipe finals.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Alex Ferreira celebrates with friends and his mother, Colleen Delia, right, at the bottom of the X Games superpipe after he took first place on Thursday night in the men&#8217;s ski superpipe finals.<\/strong><br \/>Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/01\/PipeFinalsWomen-VN-030319-1-12-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Alex Ferreira celebrates with friends and his mother, Colleen Delia, right, at the bottom of the X Games superpipe after he took first place on Thursday night in the men's ski superpipe finals.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/predicting-the-ski-and-snowboard-winners-for-x-games-aspen-2020\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/predicting-the-ski-and-snowboard-winners-for-x-games-aspen-2020\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">And so it begins. Arguably the greatest spectacle in winter sports makes its return to Aspen and Buttermilk this week, where some dreams will be made and others destroyed all in the span of four days. X Games has long been seen as the pinnacle of the sport \u2014 to some, even more so than the Olympics \u2014 and Aspen has been its home since 2002.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The 2020 event, which is the first year of a new five-year contract between ESPN and Aspen Skiing Co. to keep it around a bit longer, will again have plenty of star power, even with names like Shaun White and Chloe Kim not competing. Trying to predict who will win all 12 of the major skiing and snowboarding competitions is simply impossible, but let\u2019s give it a go anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">With apologies to my friend Alex Ferreira, who I don\u2019t think will repeat as the men\u2019s ski pipe champion, here\u2019s my attempt at playing Nostradamus for X Games Aspen 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s snowboard superpipe, Thursday 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Scotty James<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">One of the most popular contests will also be among the first. Australian Scotty James is currently the best halfpipe snowboarder in the world not named Shaun White or Ayumu Hirano. The last time those three competed in the same event was the 2018 Winter Olympics, won by White. The other two ran off to skateboard, leaving James relatively unchallenged last winter. Who can take down the reigning X Games Aspen gold medalist in 2020? Maybe last year\u2019s silver medalist Yuto Totsuka of Japan or White\u2019s young prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Toby Miller. Maybe. White and Hirano are again MIA, so James likely rolls to his third gold medal at Buttermilk.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s snowboard big air, Thursday 9 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Zoi Sadowski-Synnott<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The New Zealand teenager is a rising star, having won slopestyle gold last winter to go with silver in big air. Defending champion Laurie Blouin is back, as is superstar Jamie Anderson. Believe it or not, of Anderson\u2019s 16 career X Games medals (which is only two behind Shaun White\u2019s all-time record), only five are gold and all five were in slopestyle. As good as Anderson is, she\u2019s never even won big air silver. Not that I\u2019m trying to discredit her skills \u2014 she\u2019ll probably win that elusive big air gold this year. Although, I\u2019ll stick with the Kiwi teenager on Thursday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s ski big air, Friday 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Kelly Sildaru<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Hopefully you know who Kelly Sildaru is by now, because she\u2019s probably the best X Games skier on the planet these days. Only 17, the star from Estonia already has seven X Games medals, including three gold (all in slopestyle). Not many athletes are a true force in all three of the main events, but Sildaru is one. Last winter, she won bronze in big air to go with halfpipe silver and slopestyle gold. Mathilde Gremaud won big air gold in 2019, with Johanne Killi winning silver. So Sildaru has challengers, but I expect big things from her this week and her first big air gold will be the start.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s ski big air, Friday 8:35 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Henrik Harlaut<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Hard to bet against the Swedish legend, who has won six X Games gold medals, including five in big air. He won big air gold in Aspen in 2013, 2014 and 2018. He also won slopestyle gold in 2018. Last year\u2019s trip to Aspen wasn\u2019t his best, taking fourth in slopestyle and sixth in big air, but I say he bounces back in 2020. Norway\u2019s Birk Ruud, last year\u2019s Aspen big air gold medalist, is back, as is Alex Hall, who won slopestyle gold in 2019. My dark horse is Canada\u2019s Evan McEachran, who was fourth in big air last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s snowboard slopestyle, Saturday 11 a.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Anna Gasser<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A small field, but one that should be super competitive. Austria\u2019s Gasser, the reigning Olympic big air champion, has never won slopestyle gold in Aspen, although she did win in Norway in 2017. Her only Aspen gold came in big air in 2018. Reigning X Games Aspen champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is back, as is 2019 silver medalist Hailey Langland and bronze medalist Enni Rukajarvi. Oh, and Jamie Anderson will compete. It\u2019s really a coin flip, but Gasser finally gets her slopestyle gold in Aspen, holding off Anderson and Langland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s ski slopestyle, Saturday 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Alex Beaulieu-Marchand<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The French-Canadian, otherwise known as ABM, is due for gold in Aspen. He won silver here for the first time in 2019 (he also took silver in big air last winter) and has won a combined five Winter X Games medals. Reigning X Games Aspen champ Alex Hall is back, as is crowd favorite Henrik Harlaut, who won slopestyle gold in 2018. This should be another tightly contested competition, but it\u2019ll be ABM taking the crown in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s snowboard slopestyle, Saturday 1:45 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Mark McMorris<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Not the most original pick, but it\u2019s Mark McMorris. The Canadian has won slopestyle gold in Aspen five times, including in 2019. His 17 total Winter X Games medals are tied for second most all time and he is one win away from matching Shaun White\u2019s all-time record of 18 medals. I say he gets it, although McMorris has an insane amount of competition, including reigning Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard, who shockingly doesn\u2019t have an X Games medal to his name yet. I say Gerard gets on the podium, but McMorris won\u2019t let him have gold. Not this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s ski superpipe, Saturday 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Kelly Sildaru<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Sildaru won silver in the halfpipe in 2019, barely falling short of Canada\u2019s Cassie Sharpe. I say they finish 1-2 again in 2020, but this time it\u2019s Sildaru who wins. Keep in mind, Sildaru is still relatively new to the halfpipe. Her background is in slopestyle and big air; she only really started competing in the pipe last season, and she nearly took down Sharpe, who is the 2018 Olympic gold medalist. The American to cheer for is Brita Sigourney, who has twice won silver, including in 2018. Her other came way back in 2011, making her one of the savvy veterans. But seriously, Sildaru\u2019s destiny is golden. The Estonian gets her second win of the week on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s snowboard big air, Saturday 8 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Chris Corning<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">The former Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club athlete has become a bona fide superstar in big air with his quad-cork 1800 as his staple trick. There simply isn\u2019t much the Silverthorne-based rider hasn\u2019t won in his young career outside of the Olympics and X Games. Health issues got in his way the past two years here in Aspen, but he\u2019s due and unstoppable when he can land his runs. Of course, Mark McMorris and Max Parrot, maybe the two best big air athletes ever, are breathing down his neck. Absent is last year\u2019s gold medalist, Takeru Otsuka of Japan, but that hardly makes it easy for Corning. Still, I think it finally comes together for him on Saturday night. Although, I wouldn\u2019t be mad if Parrot won. The guy defeated cancer last year, so it would make for a great story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s snowboard superpipe, Saturday 8:45 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Maddie Mastro<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">A small field with no Chloe Kim, who is sitting out the season to focus on her academic studies at Princeton, California\u2019s Maddie Mastro might roll to an easy gold. She\u2019s the only one who has pushed Kim in recent years and should be on her way to that first X Games gold medal. Mastro has one previous medal at X Games, a bronze in 2018, and was a disappointing sixth in 2019. Cai Xuetong, Queralt Castellet and Arielle Gold will challenge for the top spot, but they won\u2019t catch Mastro if she\u2019s on point. And with Kim out, Mastro needs to<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">be on point this week as winning gold will become nearly impossible again when Kim returns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Women\u2019s ski slopestyle, Sunday 12 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Kelly Sildaru<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">OK, reality is the chances of Sildaru sweeping all three events is pretty slim. If she does, it would unquestionably go down as one of the greatest X Games feats ever. Maybe you don\u2019t remember last year\u2019s contest, but Sildaru\u2019s three slopestyle runs during finals scored 94.33, 96.66 and 99. The only way Sildaru avoids winning her fourth X Games Aspen gold medal in the discipline \u2014 and third gold in three days \u2014 is if she lets someone else win. Sarah Hoefflin was second and Maggie Voisin third in 2019, and both are back, but Sildaru is simply on another level. She\u2019s going to dominate the sport for a long, long time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Men\u2019s ski superpipe, Sunday 7 p.m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">Projected winner: Aaron Blunck<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Body_Serif\">I\u2019d really like to say Aspen\u2019s Alex Ferreira repeats after winning his first X Games gold medal a year ago, but I\u2019m not sure it\u2019ll happen. Blunck, of Crested Butte, won Aspen gold in 2017 and is the two-time reigning world champion. My dark horse pick is Winter Park\u2019s Birk Irving, who is on a tear this season. Of course, two-time Olympic gold medalist David Wise can never be counted out, nor can rising New Zealand teenager Nico Porteous. But my pick is Blu \u2026 you know what, I can\u2019t pick against Alex. I changed my mind. The Aspen \u201cFerrari\u201d goes back-to-back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Special Sections-ATW-ATW_Shirttail\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/predicting-the-ski-and-snowboard-winners-for-x-games-aspen-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maddie Mastro celebrates with her friend, Anne Jackson, after her run during the women&#8217;s superpipe finals during the Burton U.S. Open last year in Vail. She&#8217;ll be the favorite to win at X Games Aspen this winter.Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily | Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily Chris Corning of Silverthorne executes a trick down the tear-drop rail at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 19:28:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}