Monday Mix - June 17, 2019
Jun 17, 2019·Snowboard Cross
Mid-June and it really, truly, finally feels like we've settled into summer here in the northern hemisphere, with the last few glacier camps of the season lined up for the next couple of weeks, and the majority of the World Cup riders' social media feeds filled with shots of surfing, skateboarding, cycling, hiking, beaching, camping, hanging, tanning...
But also, still, lots and lots of shredding. Let's catch up with a little of what's been going on around the snowboard world this week...
FIS updates terminology from "ladies" to "women"
A small thing, but also kind of a big thing, to start today's Mix off, as we at FIS have updated our terminology moving forward to use the word "women" and its varients where, previously, we used "ladies." More info HERE.
Marcus Kleveland (NOR) back on snow
The world's preeminent knuckle-huck artist - and all-around style god who AND the first rider ever to stomp a quad cork in competition - Marcus Kleveland (NOR) was back on snow last week, some six months after breaking his kneecap in competition at the Dew Tour in December. Still just 20 years old, Kleveland boasts three World Cup wins, Sierra Nevada 2017 world champs big air bronze, and 5 X Games medals to his credit already, and with a full recovery is no-doubt destined to add many, many more accolades to that list in the coming years.
Roope Tonteri (FIN) chasing his spot for Tokyo 2020 skateboarding
Speaking of well-decorated riders, three-time world champion Roope Tonteri is looking to add some more accolades to his already-lengthy career list, as the 27-year-old is in the midst of an attempt to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in skateboarding.
Skateboarding is set to make its historic Olympic debut next season, and in Finland they've taken the drama of the Olympic qualification process and built a documentary film project around it called Chasing The Spot that follows the top Finnish skaters as they make their way through the competition circuit. This past weekend they were in Long Beach (USA) for the Dew Tour, where Tonteri couldn't quite put a solid run together and finished in 55th spot. Hopefully he gets another shot or two to make some history next summer.
Michela Moioli (ITA) honoured with Collare d'Oro
PyeongChang 2018 Olympic SBX gold medallist and bronze medallist at last years Utah 2019 world championships Michela Moioli was honoured by the Italian Olympic committee with the gold medal for Sporting Merit last week in Rome, alongside longtime Italian coach Cesare Pisoni, who recieved his award for Technical Merit. Molto bene!
SBX camps in full swing
While the US squad wrapped up their Project Gold SBX development camp last week in Mt Hood, a couple of the top World Cup squads are back on board this week, with the French team getting back to business in Val D'Isere...
...while the Canadian squad is up on the glacier (and down at the lake) in Whistler...
...and the USA's Alex Deibold, after declaring his retirement from the SBX World Cup (just kidding!) is in a top-secret training facility where he is focused on single-handidly bringing back moguls snowboarding to the top-level international competition circuit...
Dropping in on dryslope action from the UK to Japan
For those not lucky enough to have lift-accessed glacier shredding in their backyard, dryslope might just be the next-best thing, and many of the world's top riders can be found training on the surface during the snowless summer months. Great Britain's Jamie Nicholls and Japan's Yuki Kadono both showed us how it's done on the bristleboard this past week, spanning the globe from West Yorkshire to Osaka...
Alpine riders busy crushing impressive off-hill achievements
As mentioned last week, a collection of brave alpine World Cup riders signed up to undertake the insanely grueling Frodeno Challenge this past week, where athletes attempt to complete 650km of cycling, 100km running, and 25km of swimming (with the women's challenge requiring 520km/80km/20km) - all in just seven days.
Sabine Schoeffmann and Alexandar Payer (AUT), Selina Joerg (GER), and Patrizia Kummer (SUI) all set out on their quest last Monday, and while Payer fell just short of his goals, all three of the women were successful and lived to tell the tale. Impressive stuff.
Meanwhile, Schoeffmann and Payer's Austrian teammate and four-time world champion Benny Karl was getting busy with his own gruelling competition last weekend, as the 34-year-old took part in the Redbull Almauftrieb race in Zillertal. Featuring a 6km course with a 600m elevation gain and eight completely weird and exhausting challenges along the way, Karl was able to conquer the Almauftrieb in an exceptional 13th place out of 560 competitors. Looks like...fun?
And that's it for this week, folks! Here's a nice 2019/20 season edit from GBR's Matty McCormick to give you a little shred fix while the days get warmer here in the north. Hopefully the clips from the south start hitting the airwaves real soon...
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