Bankes steals redemptive victory in Gudauri
Feb 04, 2024·Snowboard Cross
The riders of the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup took to the slopes of Gudauri once again under sunny conditions on Sunday. The day was filled with dramatic finishes and gnarly crashes. Charlotte Bankes (GBR) pulled off the heist of the season with a stunning late push for her first win this year.
On the men’s side Eliot Grondin (CAN) survived the carnage and made it a double in Gudauri. The Canadian continues his dominance with a third straight win.
Bankes capped off a day of nonstop drama with one of the best big finals of the season. The Brit was trailing the leaders going into the final turn. It looked like overall leader Chloe Trespeuch (FRA) was set to sweep the weekend’s races. Not so fast my friend.
Bankes cut through the wind on the final jump and slid past Trespeuch at the line. It is a rewarding result for Bankes who faced a multitude of struggles this season with no podiums and multiple crashes, including a rough spill just a day ago.
“I think that was a big party out there. I messed up my start but pushed to the end. We had a tough start to the season with the whole team. But everyone is working so hard, this is a massive team effort to come away with a victory today after some tough times,” Bankes said.
Bankes makes her first podium of the season with the win. She finally gets back to winning ways after claiming the overall crystal globe last season.
It is her 16th career World Cup win and 23rd career podium. It is the first time she reached a podium since winning four races in a row in March 2023.
Trespeuch (FRA) took second to pair with her win from Saturday. The French rider extends her overall points lead and retains the yellow bib. She has podiumed in four of five races this season and 40 times in her World Cup career.
Belle Brockhoff (AUS) completed the triumvirate at the top. The Australian rider barely trailed the leaders at the finish of the big final. She claims her third podium of the season and 18th of her career.
Sophie Hediger (SUI) continued her strong season with a fourth-place finish. Eva Adamczykova (CZE) won the small final. The Czech rider just missed the big final after finishing third by an edge to Brockhoff (AUS) in a nail-biting semifinal.
Grondin keeps on rolling
The men’s side of things was jam-packed with action from the drop. The knockout-style qualifying set the stage for tight finishes. However, there was a familiar figure standing on the top of the hill in the end.
Eliot Grondin (CAN) took the lead in the big final after a slow start and never looked back. The Canadian cannot be stopped as he wins his third straight on tour and sweeps the weekend’s races.
“It is crazy with back-to-back-to-back wins. It was super tight racing. I won yesterday so I wanted to do well today too. I worked well all day with a few issues. But I think I fixed them pretty good and was able to win again today,” Grondin said.
It is the fourth win of the season for Grondin, who has reached the podium in every race. He moves his World Cup career tallies to seven wins and 14 podiums.
It was a photo finish for second behind Grondin. After video review, Cameron Bolton (AUS) was awarded the spot despite finishing the race sliding down the hill on his behind. Bolton repeats his second-place finish from Saturday for his second podium of the season. He now has seven podiums in 70 World Cup starts.
Rounding out the podium was Omar Visintin (ITA), who lost to Bolton by the edge of his board. It is the second podium for the veteran.
Olympic champion Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) had an unlucky day as he suffered a DNF after a crash in the quarterfinals. Jake Vedder (USA) won the small final in his 55th career start.
NEXT UP:
The FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup takes a break. The riders will return to action on March 2-3 for a pair of races in the Sierra Nevada in Spain.
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