Ulbing and Karlagachev on top in entertaining Moscow PSL
Jan 30, 2021·Alpine Snowboard
Guaranteed to be one of the highlights of the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup season whenever it is on the calendar, once again on Saturday night the Moscow parallel slalom competition did not disappoint, with a thoroughly entertaining night of snowboard racing culminating in Austria’s Daniela Ulbing and Russia’s own Dmitriy Karlagachev earning the wins by evening’s end.
It may be the shortest course on the World Cup circuit, but what the Moscow PSL World Cup venue lacks in length, it more than makes up for in drama, intensity and entertainment, with Russian traditional dancers to open the evening, a top-to-bottom lightshow and fireworks to turn up the spectacle during, and some of the hottest head-to-head racing we’ve seen all season going down throughout the night’s competition. While each heat in Moscow lasts only 18-21 seconds, those 18-21 seconds sure are fun to watch.
Ulbing back on top after four-year drought
22 year-old Daniela Ulbing came into Saturday’s competition with only one career World Cup victory to her credit, which came over four years ago back in 2016/17 - the season in which she also won the PSL crystal globe and claimed PSL gold at Sierra Nevada world championships. Though Ulbing has been a steady presence in the top-10 of most competitions since then while also finding multiple team PSL podiums with her competition partner Benny Karl, until Saturday she had been unable to find her way back to the top of the individual podium.
On Saturday she started things out in the 1/8 final by besting first Carolin Langenhorst (GER), and then her Austrian teammate Sabine Schoeffmann in the quarterfinals, before going on to meet Patrizia Kummer (SUI) in the semifinal.
With three previous podiums in Moscow, including a victory back in the 2015/16 World Cup season, Kummer knows her way around the Moscow track well, and while she would push Ulbing to her very limit, ultimately the Austrian would take the heat by a fingertip, .03 seconds ahead to earn a spot in the big final.
In the big final she would face-off against the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup’s hottest rider of the moment, as 17 year-old Sofia Nadyrshina came into her home competition in Moscow on a two-race winning streak, including at the PSL season-opener in Bad Gastein (AUT).
While Ulbing got out of the gate cleanest and opened up an early lead as Nadyrshina battled with some sloppy early turns, the Russian teenager would pull herself back together quickly and close the gap on Ulbing. Ulbing, however, never lost her composure, keeping things smooth through the last few turns and across the finish line to once again win by just .03s, for her second career World Cup victory.
"That was my course today! It was set pretty straight, and I like that very much. I attacked fully in every run and I'm very happy with how I pulled it off. That I had to change run before the grand finale, didn't bother me very much. Since Sofia (Nadyrshina) had the choice, I was dependent on her decision anyway. I really accelerated again in this run and I'm just happy that it was enough for the win” a smiling Ulbing said after her victory.
Third place on the day for the women would go to Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER), who would deny Kummer her fourth Moscow podium in the small final.
With her second place finish Nadyrshina was able to maintain her hold atop both the parallel overall and PSL rankings, with 354 overall points and 180 PSL points.
Karlagachev earns maiden win in storybook fashion
There’s no time like primetime on home soil to have the best performance of your sporting career, and that’s just what happened for 22 year-old Dmitriy Karlagachev on Saturday night, as he first put down the top time in qualifications, and then followed that up by marching to a highlight performance for the host Russian squad through finals.
Kicking things off by besting his countryman Iaroslav Stepanko in the 1/8 finals and then Daniele Bagozza (ITA) in the quarterfinals, Karlagachev had his biggest scare in the semifinals where Austria’s Alexander Payer pushed him to the final millimetres, with Karlagachev punching his ticket to the big final by a narrow .03s margin.
In the big final he would be matched up against Slovenian veteran Zan Kosir, who was looking for his first PSL victory since the 2014/15 season.
For the first half of the big final heat it looked like the race might be the Slovenia Kosir’s for the taking, as he opened up and early lead while linking his turns smoothly and steadily. However, when a bobble on a single gate in the middle of the course knocked his speed down just slightly, Karlagachev was able to keep his momentum barrelling forward, closing the gap before a final push at the finish saw him best Kosir by .07s.
“I’m really happy for this win,” said Karlagachev through a translator, “Russia is home, so I’m really grateful for all who came out to support me and all of our team today and to be able to get my first win here in Moscow.”
Third place for the men went to Italy's Edwin Coratti, who beat Alexander Payer in the small final for for his first PSL podium in over three years.
On the men’s rankings it’s Aaron March leading both the overall and PSL lists, as his fifth place finish in Moscow bumped him up to 257 overall points and 145 PSL points so far in 2020/21.
From Moscow the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup will stay on in Russia for another week, moving east to Bannoye for PGS and PSL competitions taking place from the 6th to 7th of February.
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