Each one of the Japanese riders listed above represent podium potential for the Japanese team this weekend, but Ayumu Hirano, Totsuka and Yamada come into this week’s World Cup competition with a little extra momentum after sweeping the podium for Japan at last weekend’s Snow League competition in Secret Garden.
Outside of James and the Japanese squad, look to New Zealand’s Campbell Melville Ives to be in the mix this week. The 19-year-old narrowly missed out on the podium twice last season with fourth place in Cardrona (NZL) and Calgary (CAN), and also finished fifth at the Engadin 2025 World Championships and then went on to win the European Cup at that came Corvatsch venue.
Germany’s Christoph Lechner finished fourth at the 2025 World Championships after a World Cup season in which his best result was 16th in Copper. The 25-year-old has since stepped onto the podium a further two times with second place at the European Cup in Kitzsteinhorn (AUT) and Corvatsch respectively.
In the women’s event, reigning Olympic champion Chloe Kim (USA) and team-mate Maddie Mastro are not competing in Secret Garden, as with the rest of the U.S. team. Many eyes will be on China’s very own Cai Xuetong, who was second in Secret Garden in 2024 behind Mastro. Cai’s record at Secret Garden includes wins in 2018 and 2023, and three top-three finishes in 2017, 2019 and 2024. With another victory this season, the 32-year-old would tie Tricia Byrnes (USA) for the most all-time FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe victories at 15 — a record which has stood for nearly 24 years.
Cai is one of eight Chinese women in the women’s field. Team-mate Wu Shaotong finished sixth in Secret Garden last year, and her career top-three finishes include bronze at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games, and second at the Laax Open in 2023.
Leading the Japanese women’s team in Secret Garden is two-time Crystal Globe winner Mitsuki Ono. The 21-year-old claimed bronze at the 2025 World Championships after a World Cup season where she finished third in Copper, one spot ahead of Chloe Kim. Ono also finished fourth in Secret Garden in 2024. Ono is joined by fellow Japanese riders Rise Kudo and Sena Tomita, who finished fourth and fifth respectively at the 2025 World Championships to give Japan four of the women’s top five placings. More recently, Ono finished second at last weekend’s Snow League event, followed up in third by 16-year-old Kudo.
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