Baff back for more glory as Les Deux Alpes opens Snowboard Cross World Cup
Dec 01, 2023·Snowboard Cross
As the world’s best Snowboard Cross riders assemble in the French Alps for the World Cup season opener this weekend, Josie Baff (AUS) is returning to her favourite track as a known quantity rather than a surprise package, determined to maintain her new place among the sport’s elite.
Baff’s breakout victory at Les Deux Alpes in December 2022 supercharged a sensational season in which she made another three podiums, finished third overall, and claimed silver at the 2023 world championships in Bakuriani, Georgia.
“Winning the first World Cup last year in Les Deux Alpes was pretty insane,” the 20-year-old Australian said from her training camp in Pitztal, Austria, last week.
“It really instilled some belief in me that I had what it takes and I think that set the pace for the whole season, giving me the confidence that I needed for the rest of the races.
“I’ve been training really hard for the past three weeks. I’m feeling pretty good physically and mentally, and I’m ready to take on the season.”
Following its successful debut on the SBX tour last season, Les Deux Alpes has again been handed the opening round of racing with the addition this time of a mixed team event.
“I love this stop in France so much because the track is so fun and it’s kind of unique to the other tracks, it was the first one where we’ve had some bigger jumps in and it was really fun with the rhythm sections,” Baff says. “It’s such a beautiful place and it’s a really high altitude, which challenges us.”
At 3,400 metres, the permanent crosspark in the French resort is the highest stop on the circuit and is sure to test an experienced field in the women’s event.
The rider for Baff and the others to beat will again be Charlotte Bankes (GBR), the two-time and defending crystal globe winner who made the podium in seven of her nine World Cups last season – winning six – and has 15 career victories from 59 starts.
And while the home fans will again be cheering for Chloe Trespeuch (FRA) – the runner-up to Baff at Les Deux Alpes last season and second only to Bankes overall – the path to the podium this weekend has been made a little clearer by the absence of Eva Adamczykova (CZE).
The Czech star won gold ahead of Baff in Bakuriani following 14 months out nursing two broken ankles and is now excelling on a celebrity ballroom dancing TV show back home.
“Charlotte and Eva are definitely the two top females I love to watch, and pretty much all the French girls have really incredible styles,” Baff says. “The standard has definitely risen for me personally and so I’m going to put more pressure on myself to perform.”
In the men’s individual, Martin Noerl of Germany is another rider with every reason to relish the return to Les Deux Alpes for the season opener.
On this course last December, Noerl posted the first of the three wins which would help him to a second successive crystal globe even if his performances through the season were wildly inconsistent – finishing either on the podium, or nowhere near it.
Speaking ahead of the race to Bundeswehr Sport Magazine, the 30-year-old Bavarian offered some further crumbs of encouragement to his rivals, who in France should include Lucas Eguibar of Spain – second overall last season – and world champion Jakob Dusek (AUT).
“I have been very reserved in training so far,” Noerl said. “The feeling wasn’t quite right yet. We’ll only see where I really stand in the race.”
Any slip-up from Noerl this weekend could reopen the door to Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT), the Beijing 2022 Olympic champion who won three crystal globes in a row from 2019-2021. The 30-year-old Austrian finished second overall to Noerl in 2022 but started only four races last season, finishing a distant 14th in Les Deux Alpes.
The home challenge in France will be led by Merlin Surget (FRA), who won the first World Cup race of his career in Cortina d'Ampezzo in February and will be hoping to celebrate his 24th birthday on Sunday at the top of the fledgling World Cup standings.
Due to local weather conditions, the competition programme in Les Deux Alpes (FRA) has been changed as follows:
Saturday 2 December: Snowboard Cross team event at 14:30 CET
Sunday 3 December: Snowboard Cross event at 12:45 CET
This updated schedule is subject to change because of the weather so please check fis-ski.com for further updates.
WHERE TO WATCH
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