Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA)/New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athletes Jarryd Hughes and Alex “Chumpy” Pullin have set the two fastest times in qualifying this morning (Australian time) in the Men’s Snowboard Cross at the famous X-Games in Aspen, Colorado.

Hughes qualified fastest in a time of 54.11 seconds, and was thrilled with today’s performance at the invitational event.

“It is great to be competing here at the X-Games, I am really happy with my run today and cannot wait for Sunday,” Hughes said.
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Pullin finished second in a time of 54.476 seconds to join Hughes in the next round, which will be held early Monday morning (Australian time).

OWIA/NSWIS riders Alex “Chumpy” Pullin and Belle Brockhoff have both finished fifth in the Men’s and Women’s Big Final at the second World Cup Snowboard event in Feldberg, Germany.

Both athletes also reached the final in the first event, where Pullin made the podium finishing third and Brockhoff placed sixth.

Pullin entered the final with confidence after winning his eight and quarter final, before finishing third in the semi, but was disappointed with his performance in the final.

 “I’m disappointed with today, but now looking forward to the next race at the X-Games,” Pullin said.

Brockhoff’s progress to her second consecutive final of the weekend was impressive, after she crossed the line in first place in her semi-final, however, she couldn’t carry that form into the final.

 “Similar to Alex, I’m disappointed with finishing fifth, but also looking forward to heading to the X-Games,” Brockhoff said.

Jarryd Hughes finished the second World Cup event in 28th place while Matthew Thomas finished 38th.

Pullin is the leading Australian on the World Cup standings after the double header in Feldberg, holding down fourth place, while Brockhoff is in sixth place in the Women’s.

IMAGE: Alex "Chumpy" Pullin (middle, red bib) out in front at Feldberg © FIS/Oliver Kraus

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Alex “Chumpy” Pullin has finished third in the Men’s Final of the Snowboard Cross World Cup event in Feldberg, Germany.

After finishing second in his semi-final, the two-time World Champion was locked in a tight battle in the final, eventually crossing the line third behind winner Nikolay Olyunin of Russia and Pierre Vaultier of France.

Pullin was pleased with his performance.

“I feel good about today; of course I would have liked to win, but third is okay,” Pullin said. "I look forward to another shot at it in the second race on Sunday."

In the women’s race, fellow OWIA/NSWIS athlete Belle Brockhoff also reached the final, but an error during the race saw her having to settle for sixth place.

Jarryd Hughes finished in 15th place after making it through to the quarter finals, while NSWIS rider Matthew Thomas finished 44th.

IMAGE: Alex "Chumpy" Pullin (right) celebrates on the podium © FIS/Oliver Kraus

Two time World Champion Alex “Chumpy” Pullin and 2014 Sochi Olympian Belle Brockhoff have both recorded strong runs to finish second in today’s Men’s and Women’s qualifying; the first of two World Cup Snowboard Cross events in Feldberg, Germany this weekend.

Pullin completed the 900m course in 29.99 seconds.

The course has been shortened for this event due to the unseasonal snow conditions.

Jarryd Hughes finished 15th to also qualify for the finals, while Matthew Thomas also qualified on his second run, to finish 44th overall.

Cam Bolton was a withdrawal from the event after suffering a back injury in training.

The finals will be run on Saturday night (Australian time), with qualifying and finals for the second event to be held on Sunday.

Feldberg, Germany will play host to the opening Snowboard Cross World Cup event of 2016 this weekend. It will be the first time Germany has hosted a World Cup in Snowboard Cross since 2004.

The OWIA Snowboard Cross team arrived back in Europe last week, with all team members training in Leysin, Switzerland in preparation for the resumption of competition.
 
Two time World Champion, Alex “Chumpy” Pullin says he can’t wait to get back to competing.
 
“I’m definitely very hungry to get to the start gate and get racing,” Pullin said.
 
“We’ve had a really good week here in Leysin; we’ve had some good snowfalls and a good little start section that we’ve been able to train on,” Pullin added.
 
Due to unseasonal snow conditions, the course has been shortened, however, head coach Ben Wordsworth thinks this could suit our athletes.
 
“Feldberg will be a sprint like World Cup which is shorter than usual, but it will be full size in terms of width,” Wordsworth said.
 
“We will also be running six man heats for the two World Cup events. We feel that this will benefit our athletes as they have the ability to be fast out of the start,” Wordsworth added.
 
Current standings for our Australian athletes:
 
Ladies:
5th - Belle Brockhoff
 
Men: 
4th - Cam Bolton
9th - Alex Pullin
17th - Jarryd Hughes
22nd - Matthew Thomas

IMAGE: Alex Pullin leading the way  in the last World Cup in Montafon held in December © FIS/Oliver Kraus

The OWIA Snowboard Cross program has departed for Europe to commence training before the first World Cup events of 2016.
 
The program will be in Leysin, Switzerland, for five days of training, with all OWIA/NSWIS athletes in attendance, Cameron Bolton, Belle Brockhoff, Jarryd Hughes and Alex “Chumpy” Pullin.
 
Next week the team will head to Feldberg, Germany, to kick off the 2016 season with a double World Cup event on what has been changed to a shortened "sprint" course due to low snow conditions. It will be the first the athletes have competed in this location, which will be an exciting challenge for the team.
 
Feldberg World Cup Schedule
January 22 – Qualifying
January 23 – World Cup #1
January 24 – World Cup #2
 
Following the World Cup in Felberg, the athletes will head to Aspen, CO, USA, for the X-Games. Cameron Bolton, Belle Brockhoff and Alex Pullin are all confirmed invitees, with Jarryd Hughes first on the reserve list.