Telluride, CO – Friday’s winners of the FIS Snowboard World Cup season’s second snowboard cross single race in Telluride underlined their strength in Saturday’s team SBX event. While Canada’s Dominique Maltais and Maelle Ricker clinched their first victory in a team race, American Seth Wescottcrowned his golden weekend by winning the men’s race together with teammate Nate Holland.
Swiss riders Simona Meiler and Emilie Aubry came in second in the women’s finals edging out Raffaella Brutto and Michela Moioli of Italy to the third spot.
“We had some bad luck in the past and have never been able to win this one. Last night, we were super pumped to win this one and finally leave with the Gold from this team event,” Maltais said.
Jackie Hernandez, of Londonderry, Vt., and Salt Lake City’s Faye Gulini missed out on finals but came back to win the small final and take fifth.
On the men’s side, Italy’s Tomaso Leoni and Emanuel Perathoner, as well as Michael Haemmerle and Hanno Douschan of Austria rounded out the podium in second and third, respectively.
Saturday’s team event was marked by another photo finish for Wescott, this time against Perathoner. It was the second straight weekend U.S. Snowboarding has triumphed in a FIS Snowboarding World Cup team event, with Holland combining with Hagen Kearney of Telluride the previous weekend in Austria.
“I messed up that upper flat. I got out in the powder,” Wescott confessed. “I waited and played the draft to the end. I knew if I was on him coming to that last jump that I would be able to get him by the finish line. It was tight.
“As I said yesterday it’s so nice to feel healthy again. I think my head really wasn’t in it last week in Austria, so it’s nice to come home to the States and get the focus going and feel like I’m riding good again,” he concluded.
“It was very close. We were a bit unlucky but that’s OK,” added Leoni.
USA2, with Nick Baumgartner of Iron River, Mich. and Kearney missed out in the opening round and finished ninth.
The FIS Snowboard World Cup continues with the Parallel World Cup opener (PGS) this week in Carezza, Italy. Next up for SBX is the FIS Snowboard World Championships in Stoneham, Quebec, Canada, Jan. 24-26.