Details to Come: Six newcomers who will soon be under the Olympic microscope

WORDS BY SHAY WILLIAMS.

And still, he effortlessly left the world’s best in his rear view mirror. Alex put his natural talent—not his ability to repetitively practice—on the line and emerged victorious. And that is Alex. Nonchalant, worry-free, all-or-nothing, Alex. It’s with this attitude that he’ll lead the charge to Sochi, with a flair and style all his own.

Those year-long rankings are no short order in a discipline entrenched with big-name talent. Sure, Krief has yet to lift a cup or hold a medal with an “X” on it, but it won’t be long before he steps out from his countrymen’s shadows and helps shape the future of pipe skiing.

While many women try to hone their skills in one discipline, Devin takes on both pipe and slope. It’s this combination that has led Devin to myriad podium finishes in both disciplines and her first—of many to come—AFP overall title.

NICK GOEPPER is a machine. A 17-year-old slopestyle machine. Year-round training and air awareness have allowed him to perform just about every trick in the book with rarely seen precision. But these days, slopestyle isn’t the dub-10 shootout it has been.

It’s much more complex, requiring perfect execution and calculated trick selection that varies by course. Yet Nick tackles a slope course like a sushi chef fillets toro—dismantling with ease, exactness and quiet ferocity.

The precocious youngster topped the Dumont Cup and took third at the Killington Dew stop last season, making his season a launching point for bigger and better years to come.

DAVID WISE has no X Games medals, no Dew Tour trophies and no AFP titles. But don’t let that fool you. He's insanely talented, skis with the amplitude to back it up and is about to break out in a big way.

Pretty soon it’ll be a race to see who can catch up to David’s back-to-back double cork 1260s, which he is oh-so-close to perfecting.

The US Olympic team member has his sights set on Sochi, and he’s got the drive, ambition and talent to blaze a path to skiing’s biggest stage.

He’s mature, driven and experienced, even after just turning 16 on December 2, 2011. Tons of youngsters won’t live up to their hype, but Torin—with all of his natural gifts—has exceeded present expectations and leapt into our hearts and minds, grabbing X Games glory along the way.

ROAD TO SOCHI | AFP JUDGING PROCESS | USA v. CANADA: SOCHI PREDICTIONS