Ski Slopestyle
Freestyle Skiing- Women’s Slopestyle
Dara Howell 3/1
Keri Herman 7/2
Kaya Turski 9/2
Devin Logan 9/2
Katie Summerhayes 8/1
Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen 9/1
Maggie Voisin 10/1
Lisa Zimmerman 10/1
Emma Dahlstrom 10/1
Kim Lamarre 10/1
Yuki Tsubota 33/1
Evelin Bhend 33/1
Analysis
The best in the sport at the moment is Devin Logan. She is a dual threat in the pipe as well as the slopestyle course. Her skills from the pipe make her tricks on the jump portion on the slope bigger than the other riders. She has good rail presence and she will need it with the way the course is set up.
Until an injury sidelined her, Kaya Turski was the best in the sport. She has had some good competitions including the US Grand Prix and X Games to get her health and riding style back to gold medal form. Kaya is the most technical rider on the rails doing tricks no other female can complete which will be critical since half of the judges score comes from the rail.
Dara Howell is wildly overrated at 3/1. She shouldn’t be considered the favorite in my eyes at such a short price. At best she is a silver medal contender in this competition. Her rails are average and her jumps aren’t as big as others. To win the gold, Howell will need falls from Logan, Turski and even Keri Herman.
Keri Herman is the best rider in the field and she enters with zero pressure or an expectation to win placed on her shoulders. I expect Keri to put a run down that will put her into the top spot, but it will force Logan and Turski to dig for their best, which will give them the top spots.
Best Bet: Devin Logan
Value Bet: Devin Logan & Kaya Turski
Longshot Bet: Dara Howell
Dark Horse: Keri Hermann or Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen – If chaos at the top ensues, based on where she would be in the standings, Tiril could be a complete surprise to everyone including her.
2014 Winter Olympics (Sochi, Russia) – Freestyle Skiing- Men’s Slopestyle
Nicholas Goepper 3/2
Andreas Haatveit 9/2
James Woods 5/1
Bobby Brown 5/1
Russell Henshaw 7/1
Jesper Tjader 8/1
Josiah Wells 10/1
Henrik Harlaut 11/1
Gus Kenworthy 16/1
Joss Christensen 25/1
Fabian Boesch 28/1
Nicholas Goepper will win…Bobby Brown will grab the silver and Gus Kenworthy will take home the bronze. If you can find a bet for a Team USA trifecta jump at the opportunity.
Nick Goepper is the back to back X Games champion in the sport and was the very first to lock up a spot on the first ever US Ski Slopestyle team only needing two qualifiers to do so. He is that good. He has the best rail skills, followed closely by Bobby Brown. Goepper also has the most technical air tricks which is why he will separate from Brown in the end and land the gold.
Bobby Brown is the next best rider in the field and can beat Goepper, with a clean run. Brown became the first skier at Winter X to win two golds in one trip – big air and slopestyle, solidifying himself as a prohibitive favorite. At 6’2” 185 pounds, he is the tallest and biggest in the field which allows him to spin and jump bigger than most, using his size to his advantage.
Best Bet: Nick Goepper
Value Bet: Bobby Brown
Long Shot: Gus Kenworthy. Kenworthy is a dual athlete in slope and pipe, unlike most of the others that are sport specific. He uses his pipe skills in the jump section allowing him to bump his score up. In all the Olympic slope qualifying events there were three consistent faces throughout; Goepper, Brown and Kenworthy.
Dark Horse: Joss Christensen. Coming off of a win at the Grand Prix in park City, Christensen could do it again and shock the world. He has the technical tricks to beat anyone in the field but he’s prone to battling bouts of nerves before the big show. If he can maintain his wits he will win but it’s a big if and why he finds himself only listed as a darkhorse.
