SBX World Cup set to get back to work in Feldberg
Feb 07, 2019·Snowboard Cross
Feldberg (GER) - While the Utah 2019 world championships wraps up this weekend back in the USA, the ladies and men of snowboard cross are already gearing up to get back to World Cup action, as the second stop of the season is set to hit Feldberg (GER) from February 8-10, with qualifications on the 8th, individual finals on the 9th, and the first-ever mixed team SBX World Cup event to close out the weekend on Sunday the 9th.
This will be the fourth-straight season that the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup will hit the slopes of Feldberg, and the list of past winners and podium-placing athletes at the Black Forest resort reads like a laundry list of some the best athletes on the World Cup.
Italy’s Michela Moioli (ITA) has three victories at Feldberg (including back-to-back wins last season) and five total podiums here, while newly-crowned Utah 2019 world champion Eva Samkova (CZE) has a pair of wins, with Nelly Moenne Loccoz (FRA) also have one Feldberg victory to her credit.
For the men, the top dog at Feldberg over the past three season is Pierre Vaultier of France, who matches Moioli with three victories and five total podiums. Though Vaultier suffered a hard crash in training at the world champs in Solitude that forced him out of competition, his name is on the startlist in Feldberg and it appears that he is good to go.
Both Moioli and Samkova come out of the Utah 2019 with some impressive hardware, after Samkova won gold in the individual competition, and Moioli took individual bronze and mixed team silver with her partner Omar Visintin. Also looking strong after the world champs is silver medallist Charlotte Bankes (GBR) who continues a strong season since switching to representing her native Great Britain, and Lindsey Jacobellis, who won the small final for fifth-place in the individual competition at the Utah 2019 worlds before winning gold in the inaugural mixed team event with Mick Dierdorff.
Speaking of Dierdorff, the 27-year-old is riding high after claiming world championships gold in a gutsy home-field performance. An underrated rider for much of his career, Dierdorff has now asserted himself as the leader of the US team with his double-gold performance at Solitude, and will be looking to keep the momentum rolling through the rest of the World Cup season.
Other men to watch out for in Feldberg include Germany’s own Martin Noerl, who currently sits atop the World Cup standings with 1600 points, the above-mentioned Visintin who is currently second overall, emerging star Jake Vedder (USA), and Alex Pullin, who has a win and and a third place result in past Feldberg competitions.
Sunday's competiton in Feldberg will be the first ever World Cup mixed team event, and comes hot on the heels of a hugely entertaining debut of the new Olympic format in international competition at the Utah 2019 world championships. Though there may have been some minor wrinkles, the event in Solitude proved that mixed team isn't just a viable new format, but that it is truly exciting one, as well.
With snow in the forecast for the Black Forest, weather may play a factor in this weekend’s programme at Feldberg. However, as of now, the plan remains in place for qualifications to begin on Thursday at 10:30 CET for the men, and 13:15 for the ladies.
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