The Freeski Battle for the Winter Olympics with Mac Forehand

All Images: Lorenz Richard, Red Bull | Skier: Mac Forehand

The mountains might be cooling down, but the road to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics this February is heating up. In just a few weeks, the cream of the freeski crop will drop in on an ultra-important World Cup circuit to duke it out for a spot in the Olympics, and see how they stack up against the competition. With big-ticket names returning in all categories, this’ll be a showcase of the best freeskiing talent in the world and a major marker of progression in the sport.

Heading into the season, Alex Hall will lead men’s slopestyle alongside Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli and Team USA’s Colby Stevenson and Birk Ruud close behind after last year’s World Cup results. In the women’s category, Tess Ledeux staked claim to the X Games gold, topping rankings narrowly ahead of Megan Oldham while Mathilde Gremaud came back to repeat her World Championship win.

Luca Harrington, Matej Svancer, and Miro Tabanelli will headline the men’s big air comps after incredible breakout performances last season, including Harrington’s World Champs win, Svancer’s many World Cup golds, and Tabanelli’s world-first 2340 at X Games. Young gun Flora Tabanelli topped the women’s big air rankings with two World Cup victories, a World Championship gold and a huge lead over Tess Ledeux and Anni Karava at the end of last season.

In the pipe, veteran Alex Ferreira comes back after podiums at every World Cup stop including two golds, joined by halfpipe rookie Nick Goepper who clinched an X Games gold in his first season. Brendan Mackay and Finley Melville-Ives are also strong contenders following Nico Porteous’s comp retirement.

Eileen Gu continues to lead women’s halfpipe after three straight golds last season pre-injury, with Zoe Atkin and Li Fanghui standing tied for overall points at the end of the season. Svea Irving and Cassie Sharpe also pose a threat to the podiums.

Mac Forehand snags silver at the 2025 LAAX Open amidst a men's ski slopestyle pool with deep talent.

Podium: Brik Ruud (gold), Mac Forehand (silver), Alex Hall (bronze)

Few know the pressure of a qualifying season like Team USA’s Mac Forehand, who gave FREESKIER a candid insight into the reality of Olympic qualifying—a delicate balance between enjoying a sport they love and the pressure of qualification.

It’s no secret that freeskiers have been firing on all cylinders recently. The sport is seeing an unprecedented level of progression, with tons of world-firsts throughout last season, vets dominating their categories and newbies giving them a serious run for their money.

In the midst of all the buzz about brand-new tricks, Forehand sees the value of perfecting and building on the classics: “This year I’ve kind of taken a step back and asked, OK, what can I do really well?” Forehand told FREESKIER. “I’ll build on that and progress from the tricks I already know how to do.”

Rather than chasing novelty, this year will be about surgical precision mixed with creativity and unique flavor. When the “spin to win” vs. creativity debate sparked last season, there was a conflict between people’s interpretation of progression in freeskiing and skiers’ creativity. Forehand thinks we can have both—and we think he’s right.

“You can win and you can be creative… combine the two and that’s the key.”

Few on the World Cup circuit blend creativity and technicality like Forehand, but the true test will come this winter as the Olympics close in.

Skier: Mac Forehand

In addition to hucking bigger tricks, skiers have been bringing back style from the past to inject unique creativity into their runs—both in contests and in their own clips. "Matej [Svancer] recently posted a triple 14 bring-back pretzel," said Forehand. "Alex [Hall] was the one who brought those back into contests.”

With such a stacked World Cup schedule ahead of Cortina, athletes will be trying to add their own creative flare to the big rotations and tricks they're already doing to. In short, this will be an Olympics you won’t want to miss.

In addition to training hard for Cortina, Forehand just premiered his first backcountry film, Duo, with Jacques Price. The pair worked hard over the last two seasons, stacking clips in between competitions to create this masterpiece of a short film. Check out the teaser here.

Though all World Cup seasons are cutthroat, this one is the one to watch. With Olympic spots on the line and competitive tension mounting, every run matters, and every athlete will be at the top of their game. The freeski world is about to throw down, and you’ll want to be watching when they do.

Check out the 2025–26 World Cup schedule below:

Nov. 21–22, 2025 – Stubai, Australia (Slopestyle)

Nov. 28–30, 2025 – Secret Garden, China (Big Air)

Dec. 4–6, 2025 – Beijing, China (Big Air)

Dec. 11–13, 2025 - Secret Garden, China (Halfpipe)

Dec. 11–13, 2025 – Steamboat, Colorado, USA (Big Air)

Dec. 18–20, 2025 – Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA (Halfpipe)

Jan. 1–3, 2026 – Calgary, Canada (Halfpipe)

Jan. 7–10, 2026 – Aspen Snowmass, Colorado, USA (Halfpipe & Slopestyle)

Jan. 16–17, 2026 – Laax, Switzerland (Slopestyle)

Feb. 5–22, 2026 – Winter Olympic Games, Milano-Cortina