‘Forever young’ Baumgartner wants to outwork the rest

Almost two years on from winning a first Olympic Winter Games gold medal aged 40, few riders on the Snowboard Cross FIS World Cup circuit would begrudge Nick Baumgartner a season-long farewell and a retirement party to match his larger-than-life persona.

But then few riders are anything like Nick Baumgartner.

In temperatures cold enough to freeze champagne, the veteran American was back at it again in Les Deux Alpes last weekend, racing his 108th World Cup start alongside five other USA riders whose average age is almost 20 years younger than his own.

“Retirement hasn’t crossed my mind yet,” Baumgartner said ahead of the season opener in France.

“I work harder and harder each year to make sure I don’t look old when I show up. This also helps my team, because as much as I don’t want to look old, they also don’t want to get beat by someone that has been racing longer than they have been alive.

“As long as I am having fun and I’m competitive, I will continue to do this. Knowing that I don’t have many years left keeps me pushing and while it takes a lot more work each and every year, I’ve never been afraid to outwork everyone.”

Dorky pants and rocket ships
With the possible exception of USA teammate Lindsey Jacobellis - with whom Baumgartner won gold in the Snowboard Cross mixed team event at Beijing 2022 - no one is better placed to measure the extraordinary progress made by the sport since his World Cup debut at Lake Placid in March 2005.

“Snowboard Cross has changed so much since I’ve been involved,” Baumgartner, a four-time Olympian who turns 42 this month, said.

“We used to race on regular boards, with baggy pants and huge jumps, and people didn’t train for it. We just went out there and had fun. We now wear skinny, dorky pants and race on sport-specific rocket ships with far less air-time, and it’s a full-on sport where people train their butts off and go to expensive academies.

“This does make it tougher for people to get into it, but the racing is faster, more exciting and the skill gap is much smaller.”

Unfortunately for Baumgartner, the margins were not so fine in Les Deux Alpes. After failing to advance in the mixed team event with new partner Stacy Gaskill, he then finished 44th from 65 starters in the individual, around 1.5 seconds off the quarterfinal qualifying pace.

“My goals (this season) are to stay fast and be a podium threat,” he said in the race build-up. “I want to show everyone that with hard work, dedication and a big smile on your face, you can stay young forever.

“Snowboard Cross is predictably unpredictable, and with all the years of racing I feel like I can predict what’s going to happen when it gets crazy. I have learned how to handle all the nerves although I lose a little explosiveness and reaction each year, I gain way more mentally.”

"I will be fighting for a spot"
A notoriously sharp-witted rider - “There are other funny people on the circuit? That’s news to me!” - Baumgartner is unequivocal when marking his diary for the season, zeroing in on the solitary stop in North America over the final weekend of 23-24 March 2024.

“Last year I loved the energy of the fans and the amazing course Mt St Anne built for us,” he said. “It’s close enough to home that some of my family and friends will be able to come to watch, plus all the Europeans will have to deal with the jet lag instead of just us (Americans) and the Canadians.”

Baumgartner is nothing if not optimistic. But with two FIS World Cup seasons still to navigate before the next Olympics in February 2026, how long has he realistically got left?

“I will absolutely be fighting for a spot on the USA Olympic team for Cortina,” he said.

“Now that I have a gold medal there is no longer any pressure so I can just go out there and have fun - and that makes me very dangerous.”