PGS World Cup right back at it in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Dec 15, 2018·Alpine Snowboard
Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) - The second competition of the 2018/19 FIS Snowboard alpine World Cup season is taking place this evening, Saturday, December 15, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, with the world’s top snowboard racers getting right back to parallel giant slalom action after a hugely entertaining season-opener went down on Thursday just a short drive away in Carezza (ITA).
PGS qualification in Cortina begins at 13:00 CET, with finals taking place under the lights at 17:00.
The Carezza competition saw victories for a pair of less-decorated athletes who faced down powerful challengers in both the ladies and men’s competitions. Nadya Ochner thrilled the Italian crowd with her first career victory on home soil in big final matchup against reigning Olympic gold medallist and three time parallel crystal globe winner Ester Ledecka in the ladies competition, while Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak earned his second career victory against 35-time podium winner Benny Karl (AUT) in the men’s competition.
There was an interesting mix of veteran and up-and-coming riders who qualified through to both the ladies’ and men’s final rounds in Carezza, setting the stage for what promises to be a compelling FIS Snowboard alpine World Cup season from beginning to end.
With multiple previous podiums each in Cortina, both Ochner (with a second and a third place result) and Ledecka (with two victories), will once again be ones to watch in Cortina today, while last season’s Cortina PSL winner Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT), a Russian squad lead by Natalia Soboleva, and Carezza third-place finisher Ramona Hofmeister could also be in the mix this evening.
On the men’s side, all eyes will be on Italy’s own Roland Fischnaller, as the 38-year-old legend of the sport has podiums in all four previous attempts at Cortina (one victory and two runner-ups in PSL, one PGS runner-up). Last season Fischnaller won the PSL event with his teammate Edwin Corrati in second place, while in the first ever SB alpine competition in Cortina back in 2015/16 Fischnaller was part of an incredible Italian sweep of the podium.
Others looking hot heading into Cortina include the Austrian team lead by Karl that took three of the top four spots in Carezza, reigning Olympic champion and 2017/18 parallel crystal globe winner Nevin Galmarini (SUI), 2016/17 Cortina winner Andrey Sobolev (RUS), and of course Thursday’s winner Mastnak, who rides a streak of two-straight PGS wins into Cortina (dating back to last season).
This is the fourth straight season that the FIS Snowboard alpine World Cup has visited Cortina, and with nine of a possible 24 podiums through the competition’s previous three seasons on tour, the host Italian team has had great success at the renowned Dolomitian resort. With the course primed and perfect weather expected on Saturday in the Dolomites, all the pieces are in place for the FIS Snowboard PGS World Cup in Cortina d’Ampezzo to continue adding to its already-rich legacy this evening.
QUICK LINKS:
Cortina d’Ampezzo FIS data page (startlists, live timing, results)
Cortina photos (available after qualifications and after finals)
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