Jesper Tjäder railing the cinnamon bun at Red Bull Unrailistic in Are, Sweden on April 26, 2023.
© Adam Klingeteg / Red Bull Content Pool
Freeskiing

Jesper Tjäder reveals what's in store at Red Bull Unrailistic 2024

We catch up with the mastermind behind the event to talk about exciting new features on the course and who he thinks will triumph at Red Bull Unrailistic 2024.
Written by Hanna Jonsson
3 min readPublished on
What started as some crazy rail feature ideas drawn onto paper has turned into one of the most unique and bonkers ski events in the world. Red Bull Unrailistic is the brainchild of Jesper Tjäder, who thanks to his unique imagination, has created the most insane and progressive rail skiing park ever seen. It’s on this course that 19 of the world’s best freeskiers will be challenged in ways never before seen as they take on the second-ever edition of the event. 
With Red Bull Unrailistic 2024 only a few weeks away, we caught up with Tjäder to find out why it will be bigger, bolder and better than last year.
The course at Red Bull Unrailistic in Are, Sweden on April 27, 2023

Last year's course was packed with big, technical rails

© Emrik Jansson/Red Bull Content Pool

Winner Mathilde Gremaud at Red Bull Unrailistic in Are, Sweden on April 27, 2023.

Mathilde Gremaud was victorious in last year's women's competition

© Adam Klingeteg/Red Bull Content Pool

What are you looking forward to at this year’s event?

Jesper Tjäder: I'm really looking forward to skiing the rails again and I’m hoping for some spring sunshine and slushy conditions this time around. I'm also looking forward to watching legends like Andreas Håtveit and Henrik Harlaut, and seeing how they master this year’s course. It’s going to be fun to see what they manage to get up to on the features.

Talking about the 2024 course, can you tell us a bit about it?

It’s a mix between new and older features. For example, the rainbow rail from last year is making a comeback and will be more or less the same. Then there are some new exciting ones. The course starts with a rollercoaster rail which is a street-inspired feature and also pretty fun. It will start the competition with a bang as skiers will go from a standstill at the start gate right into some big action.

There is also the dance floor which is a brand new feature. I think it could either be super fun or super scary! I’ve never skied anything like it so it’s hard to say ahead of the event how it will run. However, I think it could become a rider favourite.

Then at the very end we’ve got the wave feature. For me, spring is all about doing pond skims and that’s where the inspiration for this feature has come from. A next level pond skim but with rails, both at the bottom and at the top and with the option to wallride the wave. I think it’s going to look very cool but most importantly, be really fun to ski. It’s always fun to have some water involved.

The full 2024 Red Bull Unrailistic course map

The 2024 Red Bull Unrailistic course

© Red Bull Unrailistic

Is there a specific feature you’re looking forward to?

Well, all of them! To link them all together will look really sick.

Who do you think will be your biggest competitor this year?

I don’t think it’s possible to beat Håtveit to be honest. He deserved it last year and he never stops practicing rails. He's almost unstoppable. It’s very impressive and inspirational.

Winner Andreas Håtveit cheering with athletes at Red Bull Unrailistic in Are, Sweden on April 27, 2023

Andreas Håtveit came out of a nine-year retirement to take the win in 2023

© Adam Klingeteg/Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull Unrailistic 2024 takes place on April 25-26 in Åre, Sweden. A livestream of the finals, on April 26, will be shown on Red Bull TV. You can download the RBTV app here so you can watch the action on all your devices.

Part of this story

Red Bull Unrailistic

The world’s top skiers return to Åre, Sweden to take on the world's most bonkers ski course.

Sweden

Jesper Tjäder

A freeski star from Sweden, Jesper Tjäder has been making appearances on podiums for years now and looks on course to continue this success.

SwedenSweden