Miki and Snowboard Alpine visit Beijing Olympic venue for week two

Dec 06, 2024·Snowboard Alpine

The VISA FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup makes its second stop of the young season in China. The world’s best snowboard racers traveled East across China to the mountains outside of the country’s capital for another weekend of thrilling Alpine action. The men’s and women’s tours will compete in Yanqing, China at one of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games venues.

The slopes at the National Alpine Skiing Centre were used for all of the Alpine Skiing competitions for the Beijing 2022 Games and will host the World Cup event. The riders lodged in the Olympic Village during preparation for the weekend’s event. Many enjoyed their off days during the week visiting the sites in Beijing. Some snowboarders even walked the world-famous Great Wall, hoping some greatness rubbed off on them for this weekend's races.

The riders will compete in a PGS event on December 7 at 14:30 local time followed by a parallel slalom race on December 8 at 13:30 local. Both events will feature qualifying time trails followed by head-to-head knockout rounds.

Can Miki keep the podium streak alive?

Tsubaki Miki (JPN) will look to continue her hot streak to open the season on the women’s side. Miki was the only rider from the first weekend in either gender to make the podium in both races. She is not satisfied with just top-three finishes.

“When I was 8 years old, I decided to be the best player in the world, so I set a specific goal every year for that. But when I am actually competing, I am more focused on my riding than the result. I wanted to ride well in Mylin and I was able to finish on the podium both days. But I am not satisfied yet. so I will keep that focus until the end of this season,”– Miki said.

The former PGS world champion has a goal to place in the top four in 70% of races this season and is off to a perfect start. The Japanese rider is proud of her impressive performances in 2024 and hopes they could help grow the sport in Asian nations.

“I am very happy to be able to snowboard in so many places,” Miki said. “The PSL match on the second day of Mylin was streamed on Youtube, and many fans in Japan were able to watch the match. I thought that if we can continue to enjoy snowboard alpine competitions around the world through various media, we can get more fans and snowboard Alpine will become a more popular sport,"– Miki said.

Tsubaki is one of the favourites in Yanqing. The 21-year-old will have stiff competition from a hungry field of contenders. The women will have some relief knowing overall standings leader Ester Ledecka (CZE) will be back in North America competing in Alpine skiing after winning the first race and placing fourth in the second.

Defending overall champion Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) will look to bounce back from a disappointing start to the season. The German suffered first round exits in both events and is an unfamiliar spot at 12th in the standings.

Sabine Payer (AUT) may have a new last name but is still bringing solid snowboarding. Payer will try to make it two wins in a row after topping the PSL podium in Mylin.

Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) will also be looking for a second straight win. The Italian leads the men’s overall standings and took down the defending overall champion Benjamin Karl (AUT) in last weekend’s PSL big final. The 30-year-old had nothing but praise for the legendary Karl and hopes he can create a lasting legacy.

“It will be cool to become a snowboard legend, but for me the most important thing for me is to leave a mark on this sport and to be able to have fun doing what I love to do!”– Bormolini said.

Bormolini pulled off quite the comeback after finishing tenth in the the PGS race before coming back the next day to win the PSL event. It is all about a short memory and staying optimistic for the Italian.

"'After the rain comes the sun,' I just try to give my best every run I do and if it's the right day maybe I win,”– Bormolini said.

His teammate Edwin Coratti (ITA) will be another name to watch after winning the PGS race in Mylin in week one. Karl will be gunning for his first win of the season and Bi Ye (CHN) could be a dark horse contender after making the semifinals in the PGS in Mylin.

Information on how to watch the races can be seen below.

FACTS & FIGURES

NASC Yanqing was the site of Alpine Skiing at the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Yanqing is approximately 1.5 hours from Beijing.
Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) is going for his sixth career World Cup victory.
Italian Men swept the first weekend’s events. Italian Men also won five races in 2023-24.
Four races: Ramona Theresia Hofmeister’s longest victory drought last season.

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