Pairings from France and Spain repeat their Team SBX win in Montafon

Snowboard cross teams featuring Chloe Trespeuch and Nelly Moenne Loccoz from France and Regino Hernandez and Lucas Eguibar from Spain both successfully defended their 2016 Montafon title in the SXB World Cup tour's first team event of the 2017-18 season, which took place on Sunday.

In the women's event, the reigning World Champions left no doubt that they are currently on top of women's team racing.

Backed with wins earned on the same course back in 2015 and 2016, Trespeuch and Moenne Loccoz made it three in a row, leading the relay from wire to wire.

“It was a very good weekend for us here in Montafon. The course was fun, and I’m really happy to win here with the best teammate ever. We want to just keep winning together again and again,” said Trespeuch.

After the 2014 Olympic Bronze medallist had gone for the hole shot as first to drop in, she set an impressive pace throughout her run, constantly extending her lead on the pursuing pack right through the finish line, where the duties were passed up the hill to her teammate Moenne Loccoz. With such a strong lead to work with, Moenne Locoz easily brought home a safe win ahead of Meryeta Odine and Zoe Bergermann from Canada.

Kristina Paul and Mariya Vasiltsova from Russia rounded out the podium in third.

While things went smooth and easy for the French girls in the women's final, Hernandez and Eguibar had to battle hard with AUT1 and FRA1 over the total length of the big final to bring home another victory in Montafon.

In the end, it was Eguibar who secured victory for the 2017 World Championships Silver medallists with a last-minute move.

“I was waiting for the last rollers, because I know I’m fast in the last turn. So when I saw I was second I thought, ‘Ok, just wait for the last turn, and make your move there. I was following Schairer’s line and in the last jump I had a little bit of space and I just went full out and passed him,” explained Eguibar his smart move which earned Team ESP1 the win.

Markus Schairer, overtaken on the home stretch, was able to cross the finish line just ahead of France's Pierre Vaultier in a photo finish for second place, securing another podium for him and his fellow Montafon native and teammate Alessandro Haemmerle, who both have triumphed once in their home soil event's individual race before and placed third and second, respectively, in Saturday's individual competition.

Vaultier and his teammate Merlin Surget would be forced to settle for the third place on the day.

The SBX World Cup tour continues next week with one individual race being scheduled for , Italy on December 21 and 22, 2017 before making a break for the holidays.

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