VEYSONNAZ, Switzerland (Mar. 14, 2015)—Due to poor snow conditions, the FIS Snowboardcross World Cup season opener finally kicked off on Saturday in Veysonnaz, Switzerland.
A flat and fast course caused trouble for a lot of competitors, resulting in pileups and dramatic crashes, including one that took down top-qualifier Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT). Jacobellis finished 11th after going down hard in semi-final round, suffering a broken tooth. She will sit out the small final and Sunday’s race, but plans on being back next week. Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT) and Meghan Tierney (Edwards, CO) finished 13th and 15th respectively.
“It’s a super fast course, really straight through the top and there are some jumps that people are taking too fast and landing really deep into the flats,” said head coach Peter Foley. “That’s what happened with Lindsey.”
Third place qualifier Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, CO) led the U.S. men with an 11th place finish. Two-time Olympian Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) finished 13th, just ahead of Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, MA) in 17th.
"The kids rode really well, everyone is riding really fast but it just didn’t go our way," said Foley. "We were completely in the mix. Mick could have made the big final and all the guys were riding well."
A second event is set in Veysonnaz on Mar. 15, with the final competition of the short season in La Molina, Spain Mar. 21-22.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Men’s big final podium: Lucas Eguibar of Spain was first, Nikolay Olyunin of Russia was second and Kevin Hill of Canada was third
Women’s big final podium: Michela Moioli of Italy took the win, Nelly Moenne Loccoz of France was second and Chloe Trespeuch third
- Another event takes place in Veysonnaz on Sunday, kicking off at 8:30 a.m. ET
QUOTES
Peter Foley, Head Coach
The kids rode really well, everyone is riding really fast but it just didn’t go our way. We were completely in the mix. Mick could have made the big final and all the guys were riding well. It’s pretty unpredictable out there. It’s a super fast course, really straight through the top and there are some jumps that people are taking too fast and landing really deep into the flats. That’s what happened with Lindsey.
RESULTS
Final result men
Final result ladies
Final bracket men
Final bracket ladies
