Italian snowboarders eager for home glory

Dec 11, 2024·Snowboard Alpine

It is familiar ground for many. The VISA FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup makes its traditional stop in the Italian Dolomites for a pair of races In Carezza and Cortina. On December 12 the men and women of the tour will compete in a PGS race in Carezza. Then they will make the short hike to the famed mountains of Cortina d'Ampezzo for a PGS event on December 14. Cortina will be under the lights for the lone night race of the season.

The courses bring a unique challenge as the slopes are covered in pure, natural snow. Those conditions make things a bit trickier for the riders and will require some solid practice runs to find their grooves.

Can Italians win in Italy?

The Italian battleground brings an opportunity for home glory for the strong Italian team. Men and women from the proud sporting nation placed first in four of eight podiums so far this season. They will be hungry to keep up that success in front of their home fans.

Last season Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) took home the title in Carezza and will be among the names to watch this weekend. His teammate Daniele Bagozza (ITA) will also be hometown glory hunting. He is coming off a win in his last outing in Yanqing last weekend and is ready to keep his winning streak alive.

⁠”I'm very happy to be back in my home country. I love the Carezza ambiance even though I was never able to perform my best on this slope,” – Bagozza said.

A home crowd usually provides pre-race jitters, but not for Bagozza this time around.

“Usually there is some extra pressure because Carezza used to be the first race of the season. Now after we broke the ice in China and I broke the ice by winning one race, I now have no pressure this week in Italy,”– Bagozza said.

Fellow Italians Edwin Coratti (ITA) and Gabriel Messner (ITA) will also be tough competition in the Dolomites. Last season’s Cortina winner and defending overall champion Benjamin Karl (AUT) will be trying to spoil the party for the home favourites.

Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) will be carrying the flag on the women’s side. Dalmasso had a rollercoaster of emotions in the first two weeks in China with tough finishes surrounded by great performances.

Dalmasso topped the podium in the PGS race in Yanqing after bouncing back from finishes lower down the standings. She will be eager to add another win to her trophy case. The home territory is a welcome presence for Dalmasso.

Team italy celebrates Daniele Bagozza's win in Yanqing. @Miha Matavz/FIS

“I’m really happy to come back to Italy and I’m very excited to compete in Carezza and Cortina. It is really exciting to be here but I don’t feel extra pressure,”– Dalmasso said.

Broadcast Info for Carezza

Dalmasso will be hungry after a second-place finish in Cortina d'Ampezzo last season. She will have stiff competition from the tour leaders who have come out strong.

Tsubaki Miki (JPN) leads the overall standings and made the podium in all four races thus far this season. The 21-year-old is suddenly the hunted and lead favourite to take the crystal globe. She will be the one to beat in both races this weekend.

The Austrian pair of Sabine Payer (AUT) and evergreen Claudia Riegler (AUT) also achieved great results in China and will hope to find the same success in Northern Italy.

The December 12 PGS race in Carezza will involve opening qualifying runs followed by the finals at 12:30 CET. The December 14 PGS race in Cortina will follow the same format with finals races under the lights at 17:30 CET.

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