German sweep in Val St. Come with Hofmeister and Huber on top
Feb 17, 2025·Snowboard Alpine
The VISA FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup returned to the slopes in Val Saint Come for another PGS race. This time the athletes traversed difficult conditions amidst heavy snowfall as they fought for the podium spots. The area saw 20cm of snowfall during the day.
In the end it was a German fairytale in Canada as Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) swept the weekend with another win. Her teammate Elias Huber (GER) picked up his first career World Cup victory in a thrilling finish.
Hofmeister survives adversity on way to win
It may have taken a minute but the defending champion is reminding the Snowboard Alpine world of her dominance. Hofmeister survived tough conditions to end the day in first, sweeping both races this weekend in Canada.
It was a dramatic big final as Hofmeister went up against former overall champion Julie Zogg (SUI). They were neck-and-neck until Zogg suffered a fall on a tight gate. Hofmeister almost immediately also fell but stayed up right despite a 180-degree turn. Hofmeister regained speed and cruised to the win.
Hofmeister has won five of the past six races on the circuit. It is an incredible bounceback after the German failed to podium in the first eight races of the season. She moves her career individual World Cup victories tally to 24.
It was the third podium of the season for Zogg. The Swiss rider dedicated the podium-finish to her late teammate Sophie Hediger. Hediger was a snowboard cross athlete who tragically died in an avalanche in December last year.
The headline matchup of the day was when Hofmeister went up against Tsubaki Miki (JPN) in the semifinals. Miki has dominated all season but defending overall champion Hofmeister was better on the day. Hofmeister edged out Miki in a tightly contested duel by 0.33 seconds to advance to the big final.
Hofmeister now moves just 46 points behind Miki in the PGS standings for the crystal globe. The two will battle it out in Krynica, Poland in the final two PGS races for the title.
Miki went on to win the small final to finish third. The Japanese star has only missed two podiums this season and maintains her lead in the overall standings. Hofmeister moved up to second in the overall race, 225 points behind Miki.
Michelle Dekker (NED) failed to qualify for the finals after a podium finish on Saturday. Sabine Payer (AUT) could not repeat her success from Saturday as she was knocked out in the first round by her Austrian teammate Claudia Riegler (AUT).
Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) was third in qualifying but knocked out in the first round. Youngster Aurelie Moisan (CAN) gave the home fans something to cheer for as she advanced to the semifinals before settling for fourth after losing the small final.
Huber claims first career win
It was a day full of upsets and falls as the snowboarders dealt with the falling snow and tough conditions. Huber came out on top amidst the chaos.
Huber navigated the tricky situation all the way to the big final where he edged out veteran Roland Fischnaller (ITA) who had his own magical run on Sunday. It was a tough battle between the two with Huber winning by 0.10 seconds.
It was the first career World Cup win for Huber and second podium of the season.
Fischnaller broke through for his first podium of the season. The Italian veteran now has 51 career podiums to his name.
It was a strong day for the Italian men. PGS leader Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) ended the day with the final podium spot after losing to Fischnaller in the semifinals in a close finish. Gabriel Messner (ITA) continued the great showing with a fourth-place finish.
Daniele Bagozza (ITA) qualified fifth but was upset in the first round amidst the difficult conditions. Andreas Prommegger (AUT) failed to qualify, missing the finals by one spot.
Zan Kosir (SLO) topped the podium on Saturday but was dealt a tough draw against Alexander Payer (AUT) in round one and could not overcome the Austrian. It was more bad luck for the rest of Saturday’s podium. Benjamin Karl (AUT) was second on Saturday and knocked out in the first round on Sunday. Radoslav Yankov (BUL) came third in the first race and was also sent home in the first round on Sunday.
Bormolini maintains his lead in the PGS standings with a 97-point lead over Yankov. He also holds a 133-point lead over Prommegger (AUT) in the overall standings with three races to go.
The VISA FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup continues with a duo of PGS races in Krynica, Poland on March 1-2. The PGS crystal globes will be awarded in on the second day in Krynica.
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