The opening of the 2000-2001 Nokia FIS World Cup was nearly cancelled earlier today. In attempt to ensure good conditions for an exciting race, the snowboard cross was moved up to the glacier "La Grande Motte," but fog and strong winds, combined with continuous snowfall caused serious problems. Due to the lack of visibility during training, the qualifications were delayed, then resumed, but the conditions became worse again halfway through the finals...
Finnish rider Joni Vastamaki managed to claim the first gold this season as he did at the first snowboard cross race last season. He has recently signed a contract with Nokia and intended to prove their selection with a good result.
"The pressure is off me now, but I am still a bit nervous when I think about the next SBX race in Whistler, where I crashed last year," he said. "I'd really like to prove that I am not only limited to one win per season."
Sweden's Pontus Stahlkloo, the reigning World Cup champion, though confident, could not catch Vastamaki today, although it was close. "This second place is still a top rank, but I would have loved to have won and I was not far from it," he commented. "I did my best but you needed to be careful - if a rider in front crashes, you might be packed in a cloud of snow and lose control. The weather was terrible but everyone would have preferred sunshine, so it was the same for us all."
Alexander Maier from Austria, brother of alpine skier Hermann "The Herminator" Maier, claimed his first-ever podium today with a third. "This was just amazing. It's like a dream come true. You need to push the limits in snowboard cross and it all worked it out today. I trained really well all summer and was really motivated for this first race, maybe that is why I did so well," he said with a shrug.
Australian Zeke Steggall, who crashed in the finals last season and still has problems with his foot, made it to the quarterfinals today and ended up 15th.
In the women's race, two close friends shared the podium, with Karine Ruby from France taking the gold and Germany's Sandra Farmand finishing second. "We were just talking about it yesterday and agreed to try for first and second," Ruby said. "We just did not fix the final order. I am really happy since it gives me a lot of confidence, especially since I changed so many things and also got a new coach. Snowboard cross is always fun racing and it is less pressure for me, I really like it." With today's win, Ruby started the new season the same way she concluded the last season.
Farmand was not sure what to expect for the season. "It is hard to say once you have won the World Cup title," she said. "You can't win all the time so my goal was to collect as much good results as possible and second place is such. I'm glad for Karine. We were really trying not to kick each other out but it is just great to be first and second."
Farmand graciously dedicated her silver medal to Sandra Schmitt - the 1999 Mogul World Champion from Germany who died in the glacier train tragedy last week in Kaprun, Austria.
Austria's Manuela Riegler came in third place ahead of Marie Laissus from France who has fully recovered from an injury last season.
The first race this season was far from convenient, but all agreed it was time to get back on snow, and there's plenty more to come - there're still 14 World Cup events on the way!
— Britta Semmler, MountainZone.com Correspondent
