The competition in Austria is one of only three slopestyle World Cup legs scheduled before the Winter Olympics.

World champion Eileen Gu headlines the women's field and will be in action tomorrow when qualifying is held.

Gu recently became the first woman to land a double cork 1440 and is expected to be among the host nation's brightest lights come Beijing 2022.

Gu won two world titles, in slopestyle and the halfpipe, and two Winter X Games gold medals, in slopestyle and the superpipe, last season.

The Chinese athlete only turned 18 in September.

Tess Ledeux from France, a former slopestyle world champion and herself only 19, could well be Gu's principle rival.

There should also be a strong Swiss contingent, with Olympic champion Sarah Höfflin and runner-up Mathilde Gremaud - also the World Championship silver medallist earlier this year - due to compete.

Their compatriot Andri Ragettli, the reigning world champion, is not fit enough to compete in the men's event.

Ex-world champion Fabian Bösch therefore leads the Swiss charge, while Americans Nick Goepper and Alex Hall are also formidable competitors.

Finals are scheduled for Saturday (November 20).

This is the second leg of the International Ski Federation's Freeski World Cup season.

Austria's Matěj Švancer and Ledeux won big air golds in Chur in Switzerland last month.