World snowboard champs kick off in style

While the freestyle skiers will leave their first marks in Sierra Nevada tomorrow, it's finally time for the snowboarders to take over centre stage with the slopestyle qualifiers being the first event of the 12th FIS Snowboard World Championships on Thursday, March 9.

However, unlike other competitions on the calendar, riders will face quite a different set-up for their contest as Local Organisers were aiming to give the course design an unique and local touch.

The shaper crew picked up the theme of an Andalusian village setting up a pueblo on the Loma de Dílar slope.

Miguel Caballero, responsible for the village jib line, recalls how things fell together:

“Eight years ago, a group of volunteers sat together, and the idea kind of was born. Ever since I have been planning for this.”

While a roof or balcony is part of the set-up, riders can also chose the normal way down

End of last season's things finally got underway.

“After we got the OK we started to build up the village. We then did fine tune it step by step until now.”

With everything finally in place, riders have already their first training runs in the books.

And looking at the entries, it's quite a strong field going for the fourth ever slopestyle title since the discipline became part of the world championships in La Molina (ESP) back in 2011.

Back then, it was Seppe Smits (BEL) taking the Gold and the Belgian rider is for sure one to look out for when the battle for the podium is on again.

In addition, his teammate Sebbe De Buck has underlined that he has emerged from a young kid with some serious steez into an absolute podium threat.

Riders like Max Eberhardt (CAN), Ville Paumola and Kalle Jarvilehto from Finland as well as British shredders Jamie Nicholls and Billy Morgan have also the skill-set and style to impress the judges.

In addition, Kiwis Tiarn Collins and Carlos Garcia Knight have had their World Cup final appearances before, too, and should not be underestimated – same for Mans Hedberg (SWE) as well as US athletes Chris Corning and Lyon Farrell.

Over in the women's even and unlike to the men's competition defending champion Miyabi Onitsuka (JPN) descended on the South of Spain to keep hold to her title while 2015 bronze medallist Klaudia Medlova (SVK) is also back to business going for another medal.

However, with Canada's Laurie Blouin and Brooke Voigt, Sarka Pancochova (CZE), Katie Ormerod (GBR), Yuka Fujimoro (JPN), Zoi Sadowski Synnott (NZL), Sina Candrian (SUI) as well as the US armada consisting of Jessika Jenson, Kirra Kotsenburg, Karly Shorr and Ty Walker, a strong and deep line-up is set to give it a shot for the glory, too.

Full results of the qualifiers can be found here in the afternoon of March 9.