Snowboardcross:
This will be an exciting battle for the men. Naturally, a lot will depend on how the brackets line up, but when the final run goes I expect to see France's Pierre Vaultier and American Seth Wescott battling for gold in the final along with U.S. teammates Nate Holland and Graham Watanabe. Even though he's not exactly a favorite at this point, I'm picking Wescott, the 2006 gold medalist, to surprise everyone and repeat here in Vancouver. Wescott has a way of stepping up in big moments.

On the women's side, I'm confident American Lindsey Jacobellis will bury her famous mistake of the past in style. For the record, I hope she goes for a giant method air again this year while winning just to silence all of the critics once and for all.

Halfpipe:
There's been a lot of talk about a U.S. men's sweep of the medal stand in halfpipe this year, but injuries have had a real impact on the depth of the American squad. The chances of them owning the podium are still real, but definitely more difficult than first thought. At the end of the day I do believe Switzerland's Louri "iPod" Podlactchikov will find his way to the podium. If not him, then Japan's Kazuhiro "Kazu" Kokubo. Both iPod and Kazu made the podium at X Games by riding very well, and I've been really impressed with their performances. This is obviously American Shaun White's event to lose, but should he stumble in the tricky conditions, my upset pick for gold will be Scotty Lago.

As for the women, I'm hearing more and more rumblings of Australia's Torah Bright going for a double cork. If true, she'd be the only women to incorporate it, and if she lands one clean, it's over. Just run up and hand her the gold medal. But if conditions don't provide her the comfort she needs to go for it, this will turn into a real battle, and in that case I'm going to give American and 2002 gold medalist Kelly Clark the edge here, because I think she's got a few tricks up her sleeve.

Parallel Giant Slalom:
The Americans will have a tough time in this discipline, which is dominated by the Europeans. Austria's Benjamin Karl and Andreas Prommegger have been dominating the FIS World Cup circuit, and I see no reason why that won't continue here. But I do expect American Chris Klug to end his Olympic career on the podium. Klug has proven time and again that he has a knack for finding a way.

Can anyone beat Shaun White?
The short answer is White can be beaten, but clearly this is his Olympics to lose. White has lifted halfpipe riding to a new level with the double cork, a very technical move comprised of two off-axis spins where the head goes below the waistline while spinning. The rotations and flips are performed simultaneously. Over the past few months, several riders have mastered the double cork as each know there is little chance of making the medal stand in Vancouver without it. By December of 2009, the gap between White and his fellow competitors had narrowed. White was actually defeated during an Olympic qualifying event in January by would-be teammate Danny Davis (who was later injured in an ATV accident). Not happy with losing, Shaun went directly back to the practice pipe and added another move to his big bag of tricks: the Double McTwist 1260. A basic McTwist is an inverted 540 launched off the backside wall that sends riders tumbling forward. By adding a second McTwist and an extra 360 just weeks before the Opening Ceremonies, White has given himself a very handy weapon to break out in Olympic competition. But at the end of the day, he, like everyone else, still needs to land his moves. White won this year's X Games after a big crash in practice. The crash was a real reminder of the risks involved at this level, but it also proved just how determined he is to win. If White fails to slam the door shut on his competition, somebody like Scotty Lago could pull off an upset win. But the odds are pretty solid that White will become the first rider to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in halfpipe.

Will Lindsey Jacobellis put her 2006 nightmare behind her?
Whether or not American snowboardcross rider Lindsey Jacobellis can put her infamous 2006 Winter Olympics blunder behind her is one of the biggest questions of the 2010 Games. In '06, she gave the gold medal away after falling while throwing an excited grab on her second-to-last roller. Since then, Jacobellis has tried hard to put the whole thing behind her by winning repeatedly, but there's no escaping her Olympic past now that she's back on this stage. These days, she's training with the big boys on the men's side in snowboardcross to stay sharp, and it's really pushing her performance. Snowboardcross is a very demanding discipline that requires a lot of versatility in a rider. Jacobellis has that in spades. From her days racing in hard boots and freestyling in the halfpipe, to just ripping up the entire mountain, she can deal with any kind of feature and terrain. To tell you the truth, I hope she wins this year by doing a huge method over the final jump.

Will this be the career capper for comeback-kid Chris Klug?
Parallel giant slalom rider and 2002 bronze medalist Chris Klug is hoping to cap a very storied snowboarding career in Vancouver with another Olympic medal. He's been a part of U.S. Snowboarding since the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. I met Chris years ago, as a teenager, and was always impressed by his confidence and professionalism. He's always acted like a top-level athlete. I believe that attitude is what helped him make it all the way to the medal stand in 2002 after enduring a liver transplant between the Nagano and Salt Lake City Games. He earned his name as the "comeback kid" back then, but today the moniker is even more relevant since he's qualified for the 2010 Games after missing out in '06. To remain at the top level for a span of 12 years is a phenomenal achievement. I'll be cheering hard for Klug here in Vancouver just as I was 12 years ago in Japan when I was his teammate.

The women's battle in the halfpipe
The see-saw battle waged by U.S. women halfpipe riders has been heating up heading to Vancovuer, and it's now anybody's guess as to what's going to happen. The hope is Team USA can lift each other to a sweep of the medals stand, which is very possible. Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler all have Olympic hardware sitting on their shelves, and are hungry for more. Clark, who won the gold in 2002, dominated this year's U.S. Grand Prix and looks very determined to put her 2006 performance behind her. The only reason she failed to medal that year was because she went bigger than she had to. She tried a 1080 that she really didn't need to win and fell. My guess is she won't let that happen again. Clark's edging in the flat bottom of the pipe is what separates her from the other girls. It's a small detail that leads to much bigger moves. That said, Gretchen Bleiler, the 2006 silver medalist, just pulled an upset at the Winter X Games by defeating Clark in the halfpipe, and she did it by adding something new to her repertoire. That win has certainly lifted Bleiler's game, and forced Clark to dig deep and start practicing her own new move. As of now, Bleiler is throwing more technical moves while Clark's still banking on the big amplitude. But let's not forget Teter, who benefited from Clark's '06 mistake and capitalized by taking the gold. She's proven she'll be right there to do that again if the door is left opened. Of course, the biggest threat to the U.S. women is Australia's Torah Bright, who brings some serious amplitude, an elegant style and technical expertise to her approach. There's even talk of Bright throwing a double into the mix this year. If that does happen, there's a good chance the gold medal will be heading Down Under.

Mother Nature pummels Cypress Mountain
One of the biggest blunders the Olympic officials have made is deciding to hold some of the world's biggest and most important snowboarding competitions at what can only be described as a second-rate venue. Cypress Mountain's runs are only 2900 feet above sea level. Even during good seasons the snow there remains a challenge. This winter's El Nino storm-track pattern has sent a lot of Vancouver's usual snowfall south for the winter, leaving places like Cypress a sticky, slushy mess. There's little relief in sight at this point, too. I won't be surprised if this leads to scheduling snafus. It's already shortened the amount of training time each rider will get. Dealing with issues like this as an athlete can be a mental challenge. Being ready and able to adapt is one of the toughest parts of being an Olympic competitor. My guess is they'll each be taking a very close eye on their equipment, because they'll need to modify it for spring-like conditions with wet stone grinds on their boards and some warmer wax. I also think the poor conditions will continue to be one of the biggest stories of this Olympic Games.

Here's who made the cut and will be representing the U.S. of A. up in Canuck land next week.

Men's Halfpipe

Shaun White:

No surprise here right? The U.S. Snowboard team is made up of 18 riders with one man to lead them all... and that man is Shaun. No pressure then, eh?

Click this link to see Shaun's new weapon, the Double-McTwelve.

Louie Vito:

It would have been a little embarrassing for Louie to get all that hype on Dancing With the Stars this fall and not even make it on the Olympic team. But he did, and we're all rooting for the second most famous halfpipe rider in the world to podium in Vancouver. Beside Shaun, Louie is the only other American to have back-to-back double-corks.



Scotty Lago:


This guy wins the vote's for hard-core fan's favorite going to Van next month. Lago will be riding in honor of his injured "Frends" crew member's Kevin Pearce and Danny Davis who, quite frankly, should be on the Olympic team as well.

Greg Bretz:

The darkhorse... Everyone love's a darkhorse right? Bretz, at 19 year's old, won the three-way tie for the fourth ranking spot on the Grand Prix Olympic qualifying series. He just barely beat out Luke Mitrani and J.J. Thomas. Pressure is on kid.

Women's Halfpipe:

Kelly Clark:

Kelly won four of the five Grand Prix Olympic qualifiers this year. The only other person to do that was Shaun. Kelly botched up her 2006 Olympic run, handing over the Gold to teammate Hannah Teter, but she did win us the Gold on our homeland back in 2002. Kelly is kinda like the girls version of Shaun White these days. Pretty much unstoppable.

Gretchen Bleiler:


After narrowly missing the gold in 2006 you can bet that Gretchen wants to take the gold in Vancouver BAD. She only won one of the Grand Prix Olympic qualifiers but that doesn't mean she doesn't have what it takes to score big this February. When Gretchen "GB" Bleiler puts her mind to something she usually accomplishes it, just look at all the X Games she's won.

Hannah Teter:


Hannah's got a heart of gold and an Olympic medal to match it. She donates all of her winnings to children in Africa, except for last week when she donated $10,000 to the Haiti rescue efforts after getting second at the last two Grand Prix Olympic qualifiers. Needy people everywhere are hoping Hannah scores big in Vancouver, because that means they score big.

Elena Hight:

It came down to the wire at the very last Olympic qualifier as far as who would take the fourth spot on the women's halfpipe team. Cutie-pie Elena beat out Ellery Hollingsworth to slide into the coveted team spot and will be aiming for her first podium spot at her second Olympic appearance this February.

Men's Snowboard cross:

Seth Wescott:


Seth won the first ever gold medal in snowboard cross in Turin and you can bet on him going full-out for another gold in Vancouver.

Graham Wantabe:

Graham hails from the not-so-well-known sport of Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom but since his switch into snowboard cross he's been thriving. He is well aware of the dangers of snowboard cross carnage though, his first year on the circuit he saw two-people die during competition. Even with those horrible memories he still charges and is a big threat for Olympic snowboard-cross.

Nate Holland:

Even though Nate fell at the 2006 Turin Olympics he's won four Winter X Games gold medals... so yeah, you can say he has what it takes and plenty of experience to back it up.

Nick Baumgartner:

Nick had to hold his breath for two-whole days to see if he got the fourth spot on the U.S. snowboard cross team. Luckily, the USOC allotted four spots to men's snowboardcross on the 18 man team, and Nick made the cut. He's got some good finishes under his belt, including a second place finish at a recent Spain World Cup, and hopefully he can keep that momentum up for Vancouver.

Women's Snowboard cross:

Lindsey Jacobellis:

Everyone remembers Lindsey, blonde curly mane and all. She was the rider who pulled the method heard 'round the world in 2006- the one she fell on and subsequently gave away her first place lead in the snowboard cross final. But silver's not that bad and now Lindsey is back on top ready for another chance at gold.

Faye Gulini:

At 17 years old this Salt Lake City native is the youngest rider on the U.S. Olympic team. Faye will be juggling the demands of high-school and the Olympics come this February as she goes out for her first Olympic appearance.

Callan Cythlook-Sifsof:

Born and bred in a small town in Alaska, Callan qualified for the U.S. Olympic year after only four year's on the circuit. At 24 she is proud to be the first Yupik/Inuit Eskimo to be on the United States National Ski and Snowboard Team.

Men's Parallel Giant Slalom:

Chris Klug:

Chris Klug has been there, done that, and is coming back for more. In Salt Lake City in 2002, just months after receiving a liver transplant to save him from a rare degenerative condition, Chris won a gold medal in PGS. Chris Klug is a super-hero in his own right, and continues to be a threat in PGS world competition.

Tyler Jewell:

This is Tyler's second time at the Winter Games, he came in 11th at the 2006 Olympics and is ready to best that finish this year in Vancouver. This Steamboat Spring's resident quit snowboarding in the late 90's to pursue an educational degree from Boston College, but came back in '02 to train for his Olympic dreams.

Women's Parallel Giant Slalom:

Michelle Gorgone:

As the sole representation for the U.S. in the women's PGS event, Michelle considers herself a "proud italian" and actually has the nickname 'Pirelli' after the Italian racing tires for her speed on the slopes. This is Michelle's second Olympic appearance.