It’s hard to tell from the video or the photos, but the World Cup course in Telluride has jumps that are so big you could hide a whole ski team behind them. Skiers and boarders last week made it look easy, but the tight berm turns, the gap jumps, and the rollers on the course were for the most elite professional riders, and when you throw a whole heat full of people jockeying for position on the course at the same time, anything can happen.
Snow falling on Friday and Saturday only added to the intensity, with the snowboardcross competitors struggling to hold onto their speed by getting low over their boards and trying not to burn time by catching too much air. Spectators were treated to some true battles, with photo finishes.
The top female finishers in the World Cup Ski Cross race were Fanny Smith of Switzerland in first, Ophelie David of France in second and Anna Holmlund of Sweden in third. Male competitors who dominated the World Cup Ski Cross race were Filip Flisar of Slovenia in first, Brady Leman of Canada in second and Armin Niederer of Switzerland in third.
Telluride/Norwood local Hagen Kearney, fresh off a team snowboardcross World Cup win in Montafon, Austria last weekend (paired with Nate Holland) took 18th in this home event. Kearney is new to the U.S. Snowboarding team, but is settling right in and competing with top veterans like Seth Wescott.
Wescott, a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics and a dominant force in Snowboardcross World Cup events, took first Friday.
The top female finishers on Friday include Dominique Maltais of Canada, who took first and who stomped the field in every heat, crossing the finish line far ahead of her competitors, with Maelle Ricker of Canada in second, and Alexandra Jekova of Bulgaria in third. Top male finishers included Wescott in first, Alex Pullin of Austria in second and Christopher Robanske of Canada in third.
Wescott and Nate Holland took first in the team snowboardcross on Saturday. Canadians Dominique Maltais and Maelle Ricker took first in the female team snowboardcross event.
If you missed the races in Telluride you can still catch them on TV. The schedule is posted here.
Telluride World Cup Ski Cross and Snowboardcross
