Dale Begg-Smith begins the defence of his World Cup moguls skiing title on Thursday evening when the 2007/08 season opens in Tignes, France.

Begg-Smith has been the dominant figure in the sport over the past two years, winning Olympic gold, consecutive World  Cup titles and a dual moguls world championship crown.

His 2006/07 season included seven victories and two other podium placings from the 12 events he contested during the season, a remarkable record of consistency.

Only one other moguls skier, the legendary Edgar Grospiron of France, has won three consecutive World Cup titles, so the Perisher Blue skier faces a daunting task.

Begg-Smith’s OWI team-mate Ramone Cooper will also line up in Tignes, looking to move up into the top echelon of competitors. The 19-year-old Jindabyne skier impressed last season with 15th placings in the single and dual moguls at the World Championships.

A week after the moguls opening, Australia’s other World Cup champion, Jacqui Cooper, will commence her 14th aerial skiing season.

Last year the veteran Mt Buller 34-year-old created skiing history, becoming the first woman to win four aerial skiing World Cup globes, and also cementing her place as the greatest winner of all time on 19 victories.

Along the way, she smashed her own existing points score records, posting a new women's single jump record score of 116.64 in Mont Gabriel then gathering a massive 219.91 points on her way to victory at the Salt Lake Olympic aerials site in Deer Valley.

Cooper will be joined in the Chinese venue of Lianhua Mountain by Lydia Ierodiaconou, making her comeback from the knee injury she sustained at the Torino Olympics in February 2006. Ierodiaconou was ranked number two in the world for three years leading up to Torino, and has lost none of her determination to become the world’s best.

Liz Gardner will be the third member of the OWI team at the two-event Chinese World Cup, which will take place on December 21 and 22.