French SBX squad dominates at SAC season finale in Corralco

The Visa Chile Winter Series presented by Ford brought together some of the world's best snowboard cross riders to the exceptional SBX venue in at Chile’s Corralco resort on Thursday 3 October, where the finale of the 2024 South American Cup season went down.

Thanks to the exceptional set-up at the Andean resort, many international teams consistently choose Corralco as their location to prepare for the northern hemisphere winter season, meaning a strong field from around the world was once again on hand for last week’s competition.

With the Canadian, French, American, and Czech teams all competing in Carralco, sunny weather and prime course conditions providing the backdrop, and tough battles throughout the heats, Thursday’s races were a thrilling ending to the SAC SBX season. 

In both the men’s and women’s categories, the French team dominated the races, with Lea Casta and Manon Petit Lenoir winning the women's races and Julia Pereira de Souza also hitting the podium. Brianna Schnorrbusch of the USA and Canada’s Tess Critchlow also grabbed podium spots for their respective nations. 

On the men’s side of things it was more good news for the French SBX team, with Loan Bozzolo and Merlin Surget taking the victories while their teammates Julien Tomas and Aidan Chollet nabbed podiums. Meanwhile, Cody Winters of the USA was the lone non-French podium finisher.

These races, which serve as preparation for the World Cup circuit, are part of the South American Cup circuit, which also had its opening dates in Corralco earlier in August. After the intense races, the athletes and teams enjoyed an entertaining awards ceremony, where teams came together in the heart of the Chilean Andes to celebrate the end of the southern hemisphere’s SBX competition season.

The Visa Chile Winter Series presented by Ford is organized by the National Ski and Snowboard Sports Federation of Chile, produced by Snow Animal, and supported by the National Sports Institute and major brands such as the power and style of Ford, the effectiveness of Visa, the elegance and versatility of Stanley and Opinel, the unmatched sun protection of Avène, major brands like La Bolsa del Ski, Rossard Spritz, the technology of Thule, Viña Casas del Bosque, Royal Guard, El Montañes, the energy of Snickers and Red Bull, along with important media partners like Chilenieve, Revista HD Sports, and Global.

Follow more photos and details at  @chilewinterseries

Full results HERE.

Photos by Gonzalo Gallegos.