The Swiss athlete is competing in his first World Cup event since clinching gold at the Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in Aspen, and was the top scorer from the 16 qualifiers for the men's slopestyle final in the French resort, scheduled for Sunday (January 16).

Competing in the first heat, Ragettli scored 82.13 on his second run.

Two of his compatriots performed well in the second heat, with Valentin Morel notching 81.86 and former world champion Fabian Bösch scoring 79.46.

Italy's Leonardo Donaggio achieved a 78.95 to place second in the first heat, while third place in both qualifiers was taken by Canadian competitors as Etienne Geoffroy-Gagnon scored 76.38 and Édouard Therriault 78.90.

The slopestyle frontrunners in American pair Alex Hall and Nick Goepper - who have 111 and 104 points respectively - and Norway's Birk Ruud on 100 are all not in action at Font Romeu.

Action at the Freeski World Cup is set to continue tomorrow with women's slopestyle qualification, followed by both World Cups on Sunday.

This is the final slopestyle event on the circuit before the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with the next leg scheduled to be held in Bakuriani in Georgia from March 3 to 5.