Aspen. Mink coats, champagne, diamonds, and Bentleys. Ahhh ... the sub-zero high life. One can only wonder who made the decision to allow the X Games into town, but nonetheless, into the snowy playground of the rich and famous marches the alternative sports crowd. And arguably the most wild eyed and bent subculture of the entire extreme sports movement is the merry band of men who make up the freestyle syndicate.

About as incongruous to the aristocratic Aspen local scene as can be imagined, the 12 young men who will go to war for the three Winter X Moto Big Air medals are, truth be told, the darlings of the ESPN/ABC networks (who live an die by their A.C. Nielsen TV rating numbers). With the EA Sports Supercross Series in sixth gear, all of us here at Racer X have been kept extremely busy keeping our arms wrapped around that bucking bronco. And to the best of our ability, we've been keeping a close eye on the happenings in Aspen.

So, with Moto Big Air - which made its debut last winter at Mount Snow, Vermont - slated for this weekend, we rang up Racer X contributor and brother-in-arms Cameron Steele. We caught him just before the 12 riders were to begin their first practice session on the giant jump made of snow and ice. "It's about 15 degrees and bright and sunny here," said Steele. "The face of the jump is about 16 feet high and the sweet spot is about 103 feet away from the take off point. From what I can tell, all the riders seem to really like it." As far as we know - and we like to think all of us here at Racer X, as far as magazines go, are closer to freestyle than anyone - nobody is as informed and deep inside the freestyle community as Steele. That being the case, we pressed him into doing an on-the-fly Winter X Moto Big Air preview. Using a scale of 1 to 10, we had the ESPN commentator provide us with his medal forecast for Aspen. Below is what he came up with.

By the way, stay tuned to the Racer X website over the weekend as editor Eric Johnson - who will be one of the five judges in Aspen - will file reports to keep all of you informed of the happs in the Colorado Riviera.

Justin Homan
Inventor of the Holy Man
9.0
Justin has a great chance. It all depends on what the judges think of his bungee cord deal (Note: Homan has been doing a trick called the Holy Man which sees him use a type of umbilical cord to keep him attached to his motorcycle). If Justin goes nuts, he's capable of winning a medal. People forget that he's been in this deal since day one. This could be his shot at a gold medal.

Clifford Adoptante
Vans Triple Crow winner and Summer X silver medalist
8.5
Clifford is going to stick with the trick he's been winning all the contests with which is a variation of the No Handed Cat Walk.

Doug Parsons
Former professional supercrosser and perennial medal threat
8.5
Doug has a chance to win in Aspen - a real big chance. Doug has a huge work ethic and he's really been working towards winning a medal at Winter X. I think he's going to bust out something new and very big.

Brian Deegan
The dark prince is the most recognized freestyle rider at Winter X
8.0
He's been telling everyone he has a new trick, but he won't tell us what it is. Deegan guarantees it's all new, so we'll soon see. I think Brian and Clifford are really going to go for the win here because they're tired of hearing all the crap that they are getting old. They want to show the world just who is on top of this whole thing.

Kenny Bartram
Summer X Moto Big Air gold medalist
8.0
He's really amped to be here and always willing to try new stuff. I think he has a big combination for Saturday.

Nate Adams
One of the new bomb Turks of freestyle motocross
8.0
One of the new kids with a great chance to win a medal. I see him doing a big variation of a big trick.

Mike Jones
2001 Winter X Moto Big Air gold medal winner
7.5
Mad Mike ... I don't know. He's been hurt bad a lot this year. But if anyone has a chance to do something big at Winter X, it's Jones. We'll see.

Dan Pastor
The 2001 WFA World Champion
7.0
I don't know. He claims he has some kind of monster trick. I guess we'll see what happens on Saturday.

Tommy Clowers
2001 Summer X Step-Up gold medalist
7.0
I don't think he has something new for Aspen. I don't see him being too much of a factor.

Ox
The most improved rider in freestyle motocross
6.5
I think he'll bust out the Oxecutioner or some type of variation of it. Kris Rourke has been doing the Rock Solid, a type of No Handed Fender Grab. Ox claims he can do it with a Hart Attack variation. If he can, he can win the gold medal.

Kris Rourke
If he comes with his A Game, he can win a medal
5.0
It's always a crap shoot with Rourke. He can show up and shock everyone, or do nothing and go home with his tail between his legs. You just never know. However, I will say that his bike is sick. He showed up here with a gold anodized Honda CR125 punched out to a 167. However, the launch of the jump goes uphill and I think his bike will hurt him here.

Trevor Vines
Team Yamaha factory freestyle rider
5.0
While Trevor is a super-consistent, well-rounded rider, I don't think he has the big trick to win a medal here.

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