OWIA/NSWIS athlete Cam Bolton, was the star for Australia on the opening day of the 2105/16 World Cup snowboard cross season by finishing fourth in Montafon, Austria.

It was Bolton’s best result yet, and while a medal eluded him, to make the final four was an indication of his improvement this season.

In the opening round of 32, four Australian male snowboard athletes were in action, and while Bolton and Alex "Chumpy" Pullin made it through, Jarryd Hughes and Matthew Thomas did not proceed to the next round.

Bolton, who finished second in his heat, followed it up with a win in his quarter final to be the only one of the four to make it through to the semi-finals - the round of eight. Pullin finished third in his second race of the day to join the others on the sidelines.

In the women’s event, Belle Brockhoff, who had qualified fifth fastest, won her opening race in the round of 16. In the semi-finals she crossed the line third to go into the small final, where she in am impressive performance she won her final race of the day to finish fifth overall.

As the country's now sole survivor in the field, Bolton’s great form continued in the semi, where he finished second to Austrian Markus Schairer.

In the final four, which included two Austrians and a Russian, Bolton crossed the line in fourth place to produce the best result of his career, beating the tenth place from Sierra Nevada in Spain in 2013.

“I led the final until the last jump where I made a mistake while hunting for speed," Bolton said. "Hell of a day! Well done to all the riders."

Pullin finished the day in ninth place but was delighted for his fellow-rider Bolton.

"Wasn't the best day of racing for me at Montafon," Pullin wrote. "Won the whole shot in all my heats but got caught up with Nikolay taking an inside line in the last turn before the finish straight."

"So happy for my mate Cam Bolton who threw down four massive runs to just miss the win right at the line and place fourth."

IMAGE: Men's finalists in Montafon, Cam Bolton (right) after the race © FIS

OWIA/NSWIS athlete Belle Brockhoff has finished in fifth place in the women’s Snowboardcross qualifying round in Montafon, Austria.

Leading qualify was USA star and fourth time world champion, Lindsey Jacovellis, from Czech rider Eva Samkova with Canadian Zoe Bergermann.

The result leaves Brockhoff well placed when the head-to-head competition gets underway tomorrow.

It also builds on the strong result by the men’s team, which saw four Australians make it through to the final.

Jarryd Hughes finished second with Alex “Chumpy” Pullin third in the Qualifying.

Fellow OWIA/NSWIS rider Cam Bolton finished in 24th place in the Austrian qualifying round, with NSWIS rider Matt Thomas advancing in 29th.

Head Coach, Ben Wordsworth, was happy with the opening day of the season.

“Four men in the final is a great start to the heats tomorrow,” Wordsworth said.

“Belle also qualified strong for the finals.”

Montafon, Austria is the venue for the opening event of the 2015/16 Snowboard Cross World Cup season, which gets underway with qualifying this Friday (Austrian time).

OWIA/NSWIS athletes Alex “Chumpy” Pullin, Cam Bolton, Jarryd Hughes and Belle Brockhoff head into the season opener on the back of a great pre-season, including a final week training camp at Piztal Glacier in Austria.

Hopes are high for the Australian contingent. In 2014/15 Pullin and Hughes finished inside the top ten and Brockhoff in 5th place overall, but all are looking to go even higher this season.
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Qualifying on Friday will be followed by competition on Saturday and Sunday.

​Photos: Harald Benselin