Profile and significance
Alex Bellemare is a Canadian freeski slopestyle specialist from Saint-Boniface, Québec, who helped define the 2010s contest era with a blend of clean execution and rail precision. He earned X Games Aspen bronze in 2015 in men’s ski slopestyle and represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Across the FIS circuit he picked up multiple World Cup podiums, including a win at the PyeongChang test event and a podium in the Pyrenees. Those results, plus a steady stack of well-received video parts and game appearances in SLVSH, make Bellemare a recognized name for skiers tracking the evolution of modern park skiing.
What sets him apart is not a single viral trick but a complete, reproducible approach: consistent speed through jump lines, early set on doubles, and rail transfers that read clearly from the judges’ booth and from the fence line. That reliability under pressure earned him starts at the sport’s biggest venues and kept him relevant as courses became larger and more technical.
Competitive arc and key venues
Bellemare’s international breakthrough arrived early with a World Cup podium at Mammoth in 2012, then he finished fourth at Aspen in 2013 before sealing his first X Games medal—slopestyle bronze at Aspen 2015—on Buttermilk’s stage. He rode momentum into the Olympic cycle by winning the PyeongChang test event at Phoenix Snow Park in February 2016 and added another World Cup podium in January 2017 at Font-Romeu. He qualified to the PyeongChang 2018 Games, where he competed in slopestyle.
These waypoints map the core of his contest identity: Buttermilk (Aspen) for X Games-level pressure and polished jump lines; Phoenix Snow Park for its buffed, high-speed Olympic layout; and the French Pyrenees’ Font-Romeu slopestyle with its rail-to-jump rhythm sections. North America’s springtime circuits at Mammoth Mountain and Colorado parks gave him long blocks of reps to lock runs before finals day. He also showed up in head-to-head formats like the SLVSH Cup at Andorra’s Grandvalira, a setting that rewards trick literacy and style clarity more than spin volume.
How they ski: what to watch for
On jumps, watch how Bellemare initiates the axis early and then lets the skis do the rotation. He favors readable doubles to both directions with held grabs—often blunt or tail—that keep the silhouette tidy and help judges separate difficulty from style. His landings are characteristically stacked: hips and shoulders in line, knees absorbing, and immediate edge engagement into the next feature without speed checks.
On rails his economy of movement stands out. He approaches with a flat base and minimal upper-body drift, locks presses cleanly, and chooses surface swaps and pretzel exits that prove edge control rather than padding the run with unnecessary spins. That approach translates well when wind or temps shift; because the base speed and timing are disciplined, he can adapt trick selection without scrambling.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Bellemare’s timeline isn’t just a podium list; it includes real setbacks and rebounds. He dealt with a knee injury that derailed his Sochi 2014 ambitions, then rebuilt to secure his X Games medal and an Olympic berth four years later. Away from bibs he balanced contests with filming—appearing in Level 1’s “After Dark,” dropping personal projects like “ECHO,” and stacking Quebec-flavored urban shots with friends. The Andorra SLVSH Cup appearances and support roles in community-driven events—like street-style sessions around Québec—add to his reputation as an athlete who brings contest polish to creative settings.
That blend matters in 2020s freeskiing, where athletes straddle World Cups, invitations, and independent film projects. Younger riders studying run construction can lift details from his finals-day playbook, while urban-curious skiers will notice how his rail habits (approach angles, speed choice, and grab timing on close-outs) carry directly into street features.
Geography that built the toolkit
Raised near Shawinigan, Bellemare grew up lapping Vallée du Parc, a compact Mauricie hill where repetition and park laps build mechanics fast. From there, trips to Colorado and California expanded the jump vocabulary, while the Pyrenees circuit refined the “rails into jumps” rhythm now standard in slopestyle. Key arenas in his story include Aspen for X Games pressure, Mammoth for spring progression blocks, Andorra’s Grandvalira for game-style formats, South Korea’s Phoenix Snow Park for Olympic-grade speed, and the French Font-Romeu Pyrénées 2000 venue for European slopestyle flow.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Bellemare is associated with Armada on skis—a natural fit given the brand’s park lineage and Quebec ties. For readers, the takeaway isn’t “buy what he rides,” but rather to think like he does about setup: mount point that balances swing weight with landing stability; slightly detuned tips and tails with sharper underfoot sections for locking presses; and a flex that pops without punishing landings. If you’re chasing his rail economy, prioritize boot board feel and consistent bevels before you worry about adding another 180 to your exit.
Eyewear choices have included Pit Viper’s high-coverage shields, useful on flat-light contest days when speed management is everything. He has long been connected to Québec core retail like Axis and D-Structure—shops that helped the province’s park scene mature. For progressing skiers, those relationships underscore a broader point: the right shop can be a performance partner, not just a place to buy gear, especially when you need fast edge tunes between qualis and finals.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans value Bellemare for a style you can spot mid-line: deliberate takeoffs, held grabs, and landings that roll cleanly into the next feature. Coaches and aspiring competitors value the reproducibility of his runs; he builds finals sets that survive wind shifts and start-gate nerves. Park locals relate to the path—small Québec laps to world stages—proving that repetition and detail work can carry you to X Games and the Olympics. And his presence in films and SLVSH games shows that contest polish and creative skiing aren’t mutually exclusive.
In an era when slopestyle keeps raising the ceiling, Bellemare’s career is a reminder to build the walls: speed control, line choice, edge fluency. That foundation is why his medal in Aspen and test-event win in Korea don’t feel like one-offs—they’re expressions of a method. If you’re evaluating modern freeski technique, watch him for how difficulty, amplitude, and readability can all coexist without looking forced.
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Profile and significance
Dylan Deschamps is a Canadian freeski park specialist from Québec City (born December 12, 2002) who surged onto the World Cup scene with a win at Big Air Chur in October 2023, followed by bronze medals at Chur and Beijing in the 2024–25 season. After building fundamentals on the Nor-Am circuit—with slopestyle podiums at Stoneham and Winsport Calgary—he joined Canada’s national team in 2022 and translated that pipeline experience into senior results quickly. The throughline is clear: competition-focused big air with clean grabs and readable axes, backed by year-round training and a Québec work ethic. For fans tracking the next wave of big air contenders, Deschamps has already produced multiple FIS World Cup podiums, the defining threshold of international relevance short of Olympic or X Games hardware.
Competitive arc and key venues
The inflection point came at the season-opener city event in Switzerland, where weather cancelled finals and top qualifiers were awarded the Big Air Chur wins—Deschamps took gold on just his third World Cup start. He confirmed the level a year later with another Chur podium (bronze) and added a second career bronze at Beijing’s permanent big air structure at Shougang Park. North American blocks around Copper Mountain and Mammoth keep jump timing sharp; earlier Nor-Am milestones at Stoneham and Calgary’s Winsport laid the groundwork for consistent World Cup qualifications. The pattern is typical of modern big air: excel at compact city scaffolding venues, then maintain rhythm on large western park builds between travel weeks.
How they ski: what to watch for
Deschamps’ strength is clarity. Takeoffs are measured, grabs are held long enough to telegraph control, and axes stay consistent from set to landing. Expect switch and forward dubs with dependable mute or safety placements, spin directions that complement course wind and speed, and enough amplitude to keep scores competitive without flirting with randomness. The hallmark is legibility: he maps approach speed carefully, leaves the lip in balance, and rides out with shoulders quiet—traits judges can reward and viewers can analyze frame by frame. On days when weather compresses opportunities, that predictability is a competitive advantage.
Resilience, filming, and influence
World Cup big air is often decided by weather, wind holds, and limited reps. Deschamps’ results show he adapts well to those constraints: deliver in qualis when required, protect a clean best-two-scores profile in finals, and manage risk so landings stack instead of scatter. Media around his rise has included team features and short-form edits that highlight efficient jump sessions rather than heavy street segments; the emphasis remains on contest execution. For developing riders, there’s a pragmatic influence here: learn to build a reliable two-trick roster that covers directions and grabs, then scale amplitude as conditions allow.
Geography that built the toolkit
Québec’s close-knit scene provides repetition and community—local laps and shop culture feed into early-season form. Stoneham’s parks and jump lines help lock speed control; Calgary’s Winsport facilities and airbags add summer and shoulder-season reps; western trips bring larger features and longer runways. When the calendar calls for major stages, the map points to Chur’s downtown big air festival, Beijing’s Shougang venue, and U.S. training hubs like Mammoth Mountain and Copper Mountain. That mix—dense repetitions at home, purpose-built training in Calgary, and big-jump rehearsal out West—explains the composed takeoff rhythm and consistent landings you see on contest streams.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Deschamps’ partner list reflects both core Québec roots and global brands: skis with Faction, retail and scene support from D-Structure, eyewear from Oakley, and boots via Phaenom Footwear. For skiers looking to apply the lessons rather than copy logos, think systems: a park/big-air ski with a balanced mount point that preserves switch stability while leaving tail length for butters; edge prep tuned for icy in-runs but not so sharp at contact points that they bite on slight axis changes; and a boot–binding feel you can reproduce across different venues. The broader takeaway is to build a kit that travels well: predictable flex, consistent delta, and grab-friendly shapes that keep tricks readable on camera.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Multiple World Cup podiums before age 23 place Deschamps firmly in the global conversation. Fans get a rider whose tricks look great on replay—clean sets, locked grabs, and stomps that carry speed into the outrun. Progressing park skiers get a template for competition readiness: plan for two dependable, high-value hits (forward and switch), practice them in a range of winds and speeds, and treat qualifiers with the same intensity as finals. In a discipline where small execution errors can erase amplitude advantages, Deschamps’ method—clarity first, variety second—offers a durable path to results.
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Profile and significance
Édouard “Edjoy” Therriault is a Canadian freeski park specialist from Lorraine, Québec (born 2003) who blends competition-grade difficulty with unmistakable style. He won junior world gold in slopestyle in 2019, stepped onto the senior stage with big air silver at the 2021 World Championships in Aspen, and earned his first World Cup podium in slopestyle at Font-Romeu in January 2022 before adding World Cup big air silver at Beijing’s Shougang venue in December 2023. An Olympian at Beijing 2022, he announced in June 2025 that he would step away from World Cup slopestyle/big air to pursue creative paths—street missions, short films, and style-led events. That arc makes Therriault one of the rare riders whose résumé checks the boxes (Worlds medal, multiple World Cup podiums, Olympic experience) while still pushing the culture forward with film-first ideas.
Competitive arc and key venues
Therriault’s results ramped fast. After the 2019 junior world title, he took silver at the 2021 World Championships in big air with a composed, high-value trick set. In January 2022 he claimed slopestyle bronze at Font-Romeu, his first World Cup podium, confirming that his style translates to the FIS format. The following season brought a signature scaffolding result: silver at Big Air Shougang (Beijing, December 2023), where he put down a left triple cork 1980 and a switch double bio 1800 with grabs held long enough to read cleanly on broadcast. Along the way, he appeared at X Games Aspen and kept timing sharp at western U.S. park hubs like Mammoth Mountain. In city-based big air, the downtown atmosphere of Chur’s season-opening festival became a recurring stage, while Font-Romeu’s Pyrenean slopestyle course provided early-season flow. After 2024–25, he pivoted from gates and bibs toward creative projects without abandoning the technical baseline that took him to the sport’s top tiers.
How they ski: what to watch for
Edjoy’s calling card is clarity at full difficulty. Approaches are drawn with intent; takeoff marks are precise; grabs stay locked through the axis so judges and viewers can track the trick’s phases. Expect both switch and forward doubles (and the occasional triple) where the tweak, hold, and exit timing do as much work as the spin count. On rails and side features he favors readable combos—presses into swaps, redirect landings, and measured spin-offs—so the whole obstacle tells a story. It’s why his clips are rewatchable: you can study speed choice, set, grab, and spot, then see the same structure scale from medium jumps to world-stage features.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Therriault’s media footprint grew as fast as his results. Between World Cup blocks you saw him in creative edits and sessions—“Pass the Bone” with B-Dog and Philou Poirier; a street-leaning short with Zaakto; and fall street missions with the Capeesh crew—each showing the same methodical approach found in his contest runs. In June 2025 he made the shift official, stepping away from World Cup slopestyle and big air to explore new creative lanes. For fans and developing riders, that decision underlines a broader point: competition polish and film culture aren’t mutually exclusive. He’s become a touchstone for taking podium-level fundamentals and expressing them in edits, rail jams, and style-driven gatherings without losing technical teeth.
Geography that built the toolkit
Québec’s park culture gave Edjoy repetition and community, from early laps to pre-season training blocks. Stoneham’s jump lines helped lock speed control and axis management; trips west to Mammoth and Copper stretched jump length and deck size; and European travel added variety—Chur’s downtown scaffolding jump for early-season big air, and Font-Romeu’s slopestyle venue for line-building at pace. Beijing’s permanent Big Air Shougang is where his late-2023 silver proved that his approach scales to the largest industrial structures in the sport. That map—dense reps at home, big-feature rehearsals out west, and fast-moving European events—explains the composure you see when the lights are on.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Therriault rides skis from Atomic and appears on the Monster Energy roster, with strong Québec scene ties to D-Structure and apparel collaborations via Capeesh Supply. For skiers looking to apply lessons rather than copy logos, think systems. Keep edges tuned for icy in-runs yet slightly softened at contact points to prevent bites during off-axis sets; pick a mount point that preserves switch stability while leaving tail for butters and presses; and aim for a binding/boot feel that’s identical across training and event skis. On scaffolding jumps and hard-pack parks, consistency beats maximal stiffness—predictable flex and familiar swing weight help you hold grabs long enough for judges (and cameras) to see them.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Edjoy bridges contest gravitas and film creativity. Fans get replay-friendly tricks—clean sets, long grabs, and authoritative stomps—plus edits that favor story and spot use. Progressing riders get a roadmap: build two dependable, high-value jump directions (forward and switch) with locked grabs; rehearse them in different wind/speed bands; then expand variety for finals or filming without sacrificing readability. His career to date shows that style and clarity can carry you from junior titles to world medals—and still leave room to pivot into projects that move freeski culture forward.
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Principal sponsors
Profile and significance
Ferdinand Dahl (born 1998, Oslo) is one of the most complete freeskiers of his era: three-time X Games slopestyle medalist (Aspen bronze 2019, silver 2021, bronze 2023), two-time Olympian (2018, 2022) and a driver of culture through athlete-led projects like Capeesh Supply and the rider-designed Jib League. Contest results show top-tier consistency—nine FIS World Cup podiums and back-to-back second places in the overall slopestyle standings during the late 2010s—while his media footprint and event design have helped re-center style, creativity, and legibility in modern park skiing. Dahl’s path from Oslo’s rope-tow laps to podiums at Mammoth and Silvaplana, then into format-shaping roles off the hill, makes him a rare example of an athlete who bridges high-performance contests and grassroots culture without compromising either.
Competitive arc and key venues
Dahl moved quickly through Norway’s system, sharpening rail economy and jump timing at Oslo Winterpark before breaking out on the World Cup. Early podiums in Europe set the tone; by 2018–2019 he was a weekly contender, with season-ending seconds in the slopestyle rankings and landmark podiums at venues like Mammoth (USA) and Silvaplana/Corvatsch (SUI). In February 2018 he finished eighth in the PyeongChang Olympic slopestyle final, then returned to the Games in Beijing 2022 for both big air and slopestyle. His X Games milestones punctuate that arc: first medal with bronze in 2019, a clutch silver in 2021 during a pressure-filled final, and another bronze in 2023—proof that his clean rail work and readable jump axes scale on the biggest stage. In 2024 he also won the inaugural GoPro Game of SLVSH at X Games Aspen, a live “trick-calling” battle that rewarded creativity and execution over formulaic scoring.
Beyond bibs, Dahl has invested in rider-first formats. He co-founded the Jib League with peers to create open, progression-friendly sessions that feel like elevated park laps, not rigid heats. The Innsbruck zone has been a hub for that work—city-adjacent laps at Nordkette Skyline Park and the flowy setups at Golden Roofpark (Axamer Lizum)—while the Scandinavian circuit remains a touchstone, particularly spring blocks and style-driven sessions at Sweden’s Kläppen Snowpark. For pure contest rhythm and jump mileage, long seasons at Mammoth Mountain have been a recurring pillar.
How they ski: what to watch for
Dahl skis like a designer. Approaches are mapped early—speed chosen to meet the lip in balance, not corrected at the last second. On rails, he favors full-feature usage (presses into swaps, redirect exits, and clean gap-to-starts) with a quiet upper body that squares to the landing. On jumps, look for early, locked grabs that stabilize the axis; he’s equally comfortable mixing forward and switch rotations and will size tricks to the venue rather than forcing spin count. His lines read in phases you can replay and learn from: set → grab/press → spot → stomp. That legibility is why his slopestyle runs translate to both judging booths and film edits.
Resilience, filming, and influence
What separates Dahl is how he treats conditions and formats as variables rather than excuses. Street-style sessions, SLVSH games, World Cups, or X Games—he protects in-runs and landings, builds tricks that use the whole obstacle, and walks away when speed or light won’t cooperate. Off-hill he’s built durable pillars: Capeesh Supply, a skier-run apparel label with a DIY aesthetic and limited drops, and Jib League, which turns “contest day” into a community session with broadcast-ready storytelling. Together they’ve nudged freeskiing toward athlete ownership: riders deciding how courses feel, how runs are judged, and how the scene looks on camera. For younger skiers and crews, his blueprint is pragmatic—control your environment, favor readable difficulty, and put longevity ahead of one-and-done hucks.
Geography that built the toolkit
Home base matters in Dahl’s story. Oslo’s rope-tow repetitions at Oslo Vinterpark refined rail timing and switch control long before World Cup scaffolding. Innsbruck supplied the “city next to mountains” workflow: lunch-break laps at Nordkette, feature variety at Axamer Lizum’s Golden Roofpark, and film-crew access without killing riding time. The Scandinavian spring keeps style sharp—especially Kläppen—while North America contributes sustained jump practice and event rhythm at Mammoth. Add Grandvalira’s Sunset Park (Andorra) for SLVSH Cup battles, Corvatsch/Silvaplana for FIS finales, and the Stubaier Gletscher autumn sessions, and you get a map that explains his blend of precision, flow, and adaptability.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Dahl currently rides skis from Vishnu Freeski, boots from Phaenom Footwear, and runs his own apparel label Capeesh Supply, with long-standing energy support from Monster Energy. The logos are interesting; the lessons are better:
• Keep swing weight and mount points consistent across “training” and “shoot” setups so timing transfers from Nordkette mediums to Mammoth XLs.
• Detune contact points for rail days, preserve underfoot bite for icy in-runs, and refresh base structure before salted scaffolding jumps—edge feel should match the session, not your wishlist.
• Dial your boot–binding delta and elasticity so carve-in sets feel identical whether you’re filming a Jib League lap or building a contest run; consistency equals longer grab holds and cleaner landings.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Dahl proves that style and substance are not opposites. He wins hardware at the biggest events, then spends equal energy building spaces where more people can ski their best. For fans, that means rewatchable runs—clean rail stories into held grabs and composed ride-aways—and event formats that feel like freeskiing, not sterilized gymnastics. For developing riders, his path is a checklist: design your approach line first, choose tricks that use an obstacle end-to-end, and value repeatable stomps over single-try fireworks. The medals validate the method; the projects ensure it spreads.
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Profile and significance
Jérémy Gagné is a Québec-born freeski rider from Stoneham whose path runs through Canada’s domestic circuit into World Cup starts in slopestyle and big air. A graduate of the Stoneham Acrobatic Ski Club, he rose quickly through provincial and national ranks, winning the overall Toyo Canada Cup freestyle title in 2022–23 and stepping into the international lane with FIS World Cup appearances. In November 2023 he made the 16-man final at the Stubai slopestyle World Cup, a useful benchmark for a young skier newly mixing it with established finalists, and he has since kept a steady rhythm of NorAm/World Cup entries and off-season training blocks. Public partner tags and team bios place him on a classic park/all-mountain setup with Armada, Oakley, and Québec scene mainstays; his clips show the measured speed, long grabs, and clean ride-aways judges reward. Gagné isn’t yet a household contest name, but he is a credible emerging athlete with the right venues, partners, and habits to keep moving.
Competitive arc and key venues
Gagné’s map begins at home. Stoneham’s club culture gave him early structure and year-round reps, with regional slopestyle events in the same park lanes he’d later use for NorAms. The domestic breakthrough arrived with the overall Toyo Canada Cup crown (2022–23), an “every weekend counts” circuit that forces consistency. On the international side, the Stubai World Cup final in November 2023 validated his pacing against top fields, and the calendar since has included North American stops like the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix slopestyle at Buttermilk and a home-province World Cup stop at Stoneham’s StepUp course (official event page). Autumn and early-winter timing often run through the glacier parks of Tyrol, with Stubai Zoo providing consistent XL lines for pre-season rhythm. That competition/training loop—Stoneham → Tyrol → North American World Cups—explains both his style and his steady score cards.
How they ski: what to watch for
Gagné skis like a contest technician: he sets speed early, arrives at the lip balanced, and uses long grabs to stabilize axis before a late, confident spot. On rails he favors clean, full-feature use—on, lock, exit square—rather than spin-for-spin’s-sake. The result is “legible difficulty”: runs that make sense on first watch and still reward replay. When courses tighten or light gets flat, he focuses on centered landings and immediate setups into the next feature, preserving flow and keeping deductions light. Look for tidy switch entries on jump two and final-hit decisions that protect the overall impression rather than gambling for a number he doesn’t need.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Like many Québec park skiers, Gagné grows in public—through regional events, NorAm livestreams, and regular social parts. You’ll spot his name in community-driven projects and sessions tied to Québec’s energetic scene, including appearances connected to Vallée du Parc’s gatherings and B-Dog-adjacent meet-ups that celebrate style as much as results. The through line is healthy: film small, compete medium, learn big. That cadence keeps fundamentals sharp and makes progress trackable for fans who want to watch an athlete earn his way up.
Geography that built the toolkit
Place matters here. Stoneham’s night-ski network, park rebuild cadence, and club ecosystem hard-wire repetition—perfect for learning speed windows and lip timing. Tyrol’s Stubai Zoo adds XL jump practice before the main circuit starts. In North America, Buttermilk supplies a World-Cup-grade slopestyle lane that has shaped multiple generations of finalists. Québec’s event culture also spills beyond his home hill, with spots like Vallée du Parc hosting sessions that mix pros, juniors, and filmers in the same weekend.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Public tags and team notes point to a compact, coherent kit: skis from Armada, optics from Oakley, outerwear from Vulgus365, and Québec-scene support from D-Structure. If you’re chasing the same on-snow feel, copy the system more than the stickers:
• Keep mount points and swing weight consistent across your daily and comp skis so a locked mute or tail stays on time from training to heat runs.
• Detune tips/tails lightly while preserving under-boot bite; you want rails to feel forgiving without losing grip on icy in-runs.
• Build a speed notebook for your home park (distances, winds, snow temps). Being able to repeat 1–2 km/h differences is how you turn clean grabs into clean scores.
• Protect your outruns on filming days and during training laps; a clean exit is free style and free points.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Gagné represents the healthy middle of modern freeskiing: a rider who translates club foundations into national titles, uses European glacier time to sharpen big-feature timing, and shows up at the right World Cup venues with a plan. For fans, he’s a name to track as results accumulate. For developing skiers, his approach is a template—earn speed control locally, scale it on consistent jump lines, then take it to big stages without changing the basics that got you there.
Quick reference (places)
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