Swiss double as Zogg and Caviezel claim Bansko PSL wins
Jan 21, 2023·Snowboard Alpine
The Swiss pair of Julie Zogg and Dario Caviezel emerged from the fog on Saturday (21 January) to take the wins in the parallel slalom on the first of two days of racing in Bansko (BUL). A second PSL takes place on Sunday (22 January).
Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT), Jessica Keiser (SUI) and Daniela Ulbing (AUT) came second, third and fourth, respectively in the women’s edition, while four different nations claimed the men’s positions via Fabian Obmann (AUT, 2nd), Edwin Coratti (ITA, 3rd) and Oskar Kwiatkowski (POL, 4th).
Schoeffmann and partner Alexander Payer (AUT), whose 16 points for 15th place were enough to keep him ahead in the PSL title race, now sport his’n’hers yellow jerseys as the pair are the current leaders in their respective standings at the halfway point of the season.
The drama-filled day saw some big names struggling for points in tricky conditions leading to a shake-up of the leader board in the third race of six PSL races on the 2022/23 tour.
Ulbing, the leader of the women's overall and PSL tours before today’s race, was beaten by the quickest qualifier, Zogg, in the semi-finals but still added 50 points to her tally. However, Schoeffmann’s 80 points for second place moved her to the top of the PSL rankings on 216 points to Ulbing’s 210.
Zogg’s 100 points, meanwhile, moved her into third, just one point behind Ulbing on 209. A storming day by Keiser, in which the 28-year-old claimed a first-ever career podium, saw the Swiss move up to fourth on 150 points.
Keiser beat Ramona Theresia Hofmeister in the round of 16 after the German crashed out one gate from home while in the lead. A devastated Hofmeister, who is looking for a fourth consecutive overall title, was unable to continue her recent improved form after a slow start to the season due to a back injury, finishing ninth.
A fall by Zuzana Maderova (CZE) after clipping a gate in the quarter-final also saw Keiser progress but her win against Ulbing in the small final was neck-and-neck throughout with a thrilled Keiser taking the win by 0.12s.
Zogg now tops the overall standings on 333 points after six of 13 races in the 2022/23 season, to Ulbing’s 311 points. Hofmeister is third (282) and Schoeffmann, fourth (277).
“It was great for me to win again,” said Zogg, referencing her last World Cup win in the PSL in Berchtesgaden (GER) in March, “and I’m happy to be back on the top after a difficult season start. I'm now looking forward to the next race.”
Standings after 3 of 6 races on the women's PSL tour
1 Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) 216 points
2 Daniela Ulbing (AUT) 210 points
3 Julie Zogg (SUI) 209 points
Standings after 6 of 13 races on the women's overall tour
1 Julie Zogg (SUI) 333 points
2 Daniela Ulbing (AUT) 311 points
3 Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) 282 points
The biggest surprise in the men’s races were the struggles in qualifying by some of the season’s top-ranked riders going in to Bansko. Payer qualified one spot ahead of Stefan Baumeister (GER) – third in PSL pre-Bansko – who bagged the final knockout place in 16th. Overall tour leader Andreas Prommegger (AUT) was 12th while Maurizio Bormolini, second in PSL and third overall before Bansko, was ninth.
Only Prommegger was able to eke out important points in Bansko, claiming 32 points for eighth place having been knocked out in the quarter finals by fourth quickest qualifier Edwin Coratti (ITA).
Payer’s 16 points were enough to keep him ahead of his two main rivals in the PSL title race after neither he nor Bormolini or Baumeister made it past the quarter-finals going out to Caviezel, Obmann and Arvid Auner (AUT), respectively.
Payer now sits on 196 points in the PSL with Bormolini on 166. Today’s big final competitors, which saw Caviezel beat Obmann after the Austrian stumbled early in the race to leave the Swiss a clear run to the finish, sit on 156 and 152, respectively, taking them ahead of Baumeister on 135.
Prommegger stays top of the combined standings on 326 after six of 13 races, while Payer is second (288). Caviezel overtakes Bormolini with 280, with the Italian on 272.
“It was just incredible today for me,” said Caviezel. “It was my first victory of slalom, and it feels just amazing. Today was a tough day but honestly the organisation here did a really good job, and the slope was good. It was important to be in the top four in qualification. I did, I was second, so I could choose every run and it was just a great day for me."
“I see the possibility and the chance to do a good result tomorrow as well, so I’m pretty excited.”
Sunday’s race starts at 12pm CET.
Standings after 3 of 6 races on the men’s PSL tour
1 Alexander Payer (AUT) 196 points
2 Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) 166 points
3 Dario Caviezel (SUI) 156 points
4 Fabian Obmann (AUT) 152 points
5 Stefan Baumeister (GER) 135 points
Standings after 6 of 13 races on the men's overall tour
1 Andreas Prommegger (AUT) 326 points
2 Alexander Payer (AUT) 288 points
3 Dario Caviezel (SUI) 280 points
4 Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) 272 points
The snowboard alpine World Cup tribe now head to Blue Mountain (CAN) for a PGS double header on 26-27 January, before a break for the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships taking place in Bakuriani, Georgia from 19 February to 5 March. The Snowboard Alpine disciplines take place 19 February (PGS), 21 February (PSL), and conclude with mixed parallel slalom on 22 February.
A return to the World Cup tour sees Livigno (ITA) host both disciplines on 11-12 March. Races in Rogla (SLO) on 15 March and Berchtesgaden (GER) on 18-19 March round out the season.
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