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.