Bormolini (ITA) wins on home soil as Hofmeister (GER) back to winning ways

Dec 14, 2023·Snowboard Alpine

The 2023-24 FIS Word Cup Alpine Snowboard season jumped out to a thrilling start. The riders took the giant slalom slopes for the first time this season amongst the dramatic backdrop of the Italian Dolomites in Carezza. The day began with Italian cheers and ended with echoes of the same.

Much to the delight of the home crowd in Carezza, the men’s PGS race ended with an all-Italian final. With the No. 5 bib, Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) edged out his compatriot Edwin Coratti (ITA) by 0.16 to top the podium. It is seventh career World Cup podium and third title for Bormolini after claiming two, last season.

“It is amazing. It is my first victory in the PGS. It is incredible. It is a big emotion for me,” Bormolini said.

Coratti kept the Italian representation strong with the second-place finish. It is the 32-year-old’s 16th World Cup podium. Roland Fischnaller (ITA) pulled out a comeback to advance to the quarterfinals but fell short to Benjamin Karl (AUT) by 0.03. He will try to defend his title on Saturday in Cortina.

The dramatics were not exclusive to the big final. Lee Sangho (KOR) took the top qualifying spot with a speedy run. He then fell to a shock defeat in the first round after taking a wide turn on one gate and was passed by the upstart Gian Casanova (SUI).

Casanova continued his Cinderella run by advancing to the semifinals. The Swiss snowboarder never reached a World Cup podium in his career and suffered a DNF at Carezza last season. His magical run ran out as he settled for fourth place.

The PGS Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Karl (AUT) won the small final to fill out the podium. It was the 46th career World Cup podium for the evergreen.

Last year’s winner Andreas Prommegger (AUT) qualified ninth and could not make it out of the first round. World champ Oscar Kwiatkowski (POL) had a poor qualifying time and was knocked out in the first round.

Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) brings home the glory on home soil.

Race Results Men’s PGS Carezza

Maurizio Bormolini (ITA)
Edwin Coratti (ITA)
Benjamin Karl (AUT)
Gian Casanova (SUI)
Zan Kosir (SLO)

MEN’s Overall and PGS standings after Race 1

Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) – 100 points
Edwin Coratti (ITA) – 80 points
Benjamin Karl (AUT) – 60 points
Gian Casanova (SUI) – 50 points
Zan Kosir (SLO) – 45 points

The women’s event was just as exhilarating. A familiar name came on top after a set of clutch performances.

Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) escaped by 0.02 in the quarterfinals. Then took out the world champ Miki Tsubaki (JPN) despite a not quite clean run. Hofmeister then cruised to the gold finish in the big final as Daniela Ulbing (AUT) caught an edge and crashed out.

It was the 35th career World Cup podium for the German rider. The 2022-23 PGS champion got off to a perfect start to defend her title.

“I love it here, I love Carezza. But it was a really tough race, touch conditions. I really had to fight all the way to the end, but it is a great start to the season,” Hofmeister said.

Ulbing had a solid day finishing second after knocking out one of the favourites in Julie Zogg (SUI) by 0.15 in the semifinals. World champion Tsubaki Miki (JPN) took the top spot in qualifying and ended up with a solid third place finish. She knocked out last year’s winner at Carezza, Michelle Dekker (NED) with a swift run in the quarterfinals.

The opening race of the season also marked the final race Nadya Ochner (ITA). The Italian rider is hanging up her boots and board. She finished seventh but was full of joy following her last ride.

“I did a good race. I am very happy I could finish like this and finish my last run with Julie Zogg, she is a very dear friend of mine. I could not imagine a better way to finish,” Ochner said.

The Italian won her first race with a photo finish. Her and Zuzana Maderova (CZE) were tied on the scoreboard after their run until Ochner was determined the winner after the replay review. Ochner then suffered a fall in the next round against Zogg but, got up to finish the race.

Loud cheers from the home crowd and a bouquet of flowers awaited her at the bottom of the hill. It was all a part of an emotional day for the 30-year-old.

Nadya Ochner (ITA) retires at the site of her first career World Cup victory.

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“Today was a very emotional day for me. It was the last race here for me, at home I can say. It was the place I did my most memorable results with my first podium and first victory. In front of the home crowd is always very special. There was a lot of people here to cheer, all my family and friends so it was very emotional,” Ochner said.

Ochner finishes her career with five World Cup podiums in 109 starts. She also has four Olympic and 13 World Championship starts to her name. A perfect place to finish according to Ochner.

“I still have the passion to do snowboarding, but it is not enough to do racing. I am happy I could decide this with no stress, no injuries, no pressure, it just came from my heart,” Ochner said.

So what is next? Ochner said she needs to finish her thesis for law school and is on track to ditch the mountain for the courtroom as a lawyer.

Race Results Women’s PGS Carezza