Charles was on a slopestyle roll coming into WX 2005 when he interrupted Tanner Hall's attempt to four-peat gold in Slopestyle. Gagnier is the most technically savvy rider who will compete at WX, and his rail and jump skills blow the doors off almost all the other riders. Will he defend gold in Slopestyle? The odds are heavily in his favor. While Charles does not have the "bling bling" of skiers like Tanner Hall and Jon Olsson, he lets results alone speak for his skiing prowess. Over the summer (2005), Charles focused on skiing a lot of superpipe, where his ability to link technical tricks together make him a stand out in yet another discpline of skiing.
Charles had a breakout year in 2004 winning the slopestyle at the Vermont Freeski Open and finishing third in superpipe at the World Skiing Invitational. He kept that momentum rolling into the 2004/2005 season by taking first in the slopestyle at the Rip Curl Freeski (the first major comp of the season). Charles' ability to link unnatural tricks together (coupled with stylie grabs) should make him stand out in the SuperPipe at WX '05.
Charles Gagnier looks to be another Quebecois prodigy. The 18-year-old's focus is slopestyle and big air, and he is especially fond of rails. Charles took eighth at the 2003 U.S. Freeskiing Open Slopestyle, and third at the 2003 VT Freeskiing Open slopestyle.