The winter wonderland dream results continue for Australia with Belle Brockhoff and Alex (Chumpy) Pullin winning Gold and Bronze respectively in the opening World Cup of the Snowboard Cross season in Montafon, Austria overnight.

It could not have gone any better for the NSWIS athlete Belle Brockhoff who had a near perfect qualifying run on Thursday, finishing second behind Olympic champion Eva Samkova, before winning the Quarter Final then coming second in her Semi to book a spot in the Final.

Trailing by a small margin to Sochi Bronze medallist Chloe Trespeuch coming through the second time-gate, Brockhoff had to work hard to take back the lead in the Final, to claim victory in the end. She was jubilant to start her season off in the best possible way.

“Couldn’t ask for anything better to start the tour off. Thank you for the support, happy days,” Belle Brockhoff said after winning Gold.

​A full-strength field was another tough challenge for the men, but as big names dropped out in the quarter finals, Pullin and fellow Aussie Jarryd Hughes made the most of it to push deep into the finals, with Pullin snaring a podium spot in 3rd.

Hughes got the jump on Pullin in the qualifying round, coming in second with Chumpy sitting in 11th.

But the Quarter Final was where the boys really got going, topping their respective group before moving through to the same Semi, where Hughes pipped Pullin and both progressed to the Final.

The tables were turned in the final when Hughes unfortunately did not finish to place fourth overall as Chumpy raced through in third to join Brockhoff with a podium finish.

Pullin copped a knock to the mouth in the final, but was thrilled with his result and congratulated USA winner Hagen Kearney on his first World Cup win.

“Sick day of racing, stoked to land on the podium at the first stop of the tour after some really tight heats,” Pullin said.

After the races, Olympic Winter Institute of Australia head coach Ben Wordsworth credited Brockhoff and Pullin’s hard work in training and said they were delighted to get a great early result.

“Belle has put a lot of work in through the Australian winter which paid off today. She made a great pass in the final and took a great win,” he said.

“Chumpy also rode extremely well today, putting a lot of work into his equipment and technique over the break. He rode some tight heats and made some great racing moves to get that podium.”

The only other Australian to qualify for finals, Cam Bolton, progressed through his Eight Final but couldn’t move out of the Quarters, finishing 15th overall.
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NSW Institute of Sport team mates Matt Thomas, Josh Miller and Adam Dickson were placed 33rd, 38th and 56th after the qualifying competition.

A World Cup team event also took place in Montafon, with Matt Thomas and Josh Miller representing Australia. The young team did well placing fifth in the small final.

The athletes will break over Christmas in preparation for the next World Cup event in USA starting January 19. 

A fit and healthy Australian Snowboard Cross team are ready for the first World Cup of the new season, as they take to the snow for qualification in Montafon, Austria tonight. 

The bar is set high within the talented group of Olympians and exciting youngsters, with the season opener acting as perfect ground to showcase some solid early form.

Belle Brockhoff, fresh off winning two Europa Cup events in Pitzal, Austria last week, will lead the charge with New South Wales Institute of Sport team-mate Cam Bolton, who finished 9th last week, and Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin taking to the snow in the men’s field.

Jarryd Hughes, Josh Miller and Adam Dickson will also be competing, as Australia showcases one of its strongest ever fields in the sport.

Confident ahead of this week’s event, coach Ben Wordsworth said his team had been training well and are searching for good results early.

“Chumpy, Belle, Cam and NSWIS athlete Matt Thomas, have been here in Pitzal using the state-of-the-art facilities in preparation for this week,” he said.

“The last three weeks of preparation have been used to fine tune their technique and most importantly their heat racing to prepare for some strong results in the first race.”

Olympic qualification is far from the minds of Wordsworth and his team, with the ultimate goal of PyeongChang in 2018 still a fair way down the track.

“We don’t think about it, we just want to focus on the World Cups,” Wordsworth said.

“Obviously the qualification aspect is in there, but we just want the guys to try and nail each race and get the best results we can and the qualification will follow.”

Varying weather conditions earlier in the week raised some concerns over the start time of the event, but more stable and colder weather in the Vorarlberg Alps have helped ensure the event will go ahead. 

Qualifcation starts tonight at 11pm AEDT, with the finals starting at midnight on Friday to be shown live on Eurosport. You can find more information and program times below.
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http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/event-details.html?event_id=39120&cal_suchsector=SB 

Belle Brockhoff has started her 2016-2017 international season in the best possible way, winning two Europa Cup Snowboard Cross events in Pitztal, Austria.

The event was a good opportunity for Brockhoff to transfer her strong trianing form to compeititon as she prepares for the World Cup season opening event in two weeks time.

Brockhoff’s New South Wales Institute of Sport team-mate Cam Bolton competed in the first day of competition, making it through to the quarter final stage in ninth place.

The first World Cup of the season will take place in Montafon, Austria, on December 15-18.

PHOTO: Belle Brockhoff (right) at the first Europa Cup race with NSWIS athletes Adam Lambert (middle) and Elise Turner (left)

Other Australian Results

Day One
Adam Dickson - 51st
Adam Lambert - 52nd
Matt Thomas - 60th
Josh Miller -71st
Elise Turner - DSQ

Day Two
Matt Thomas - 9th
Josh Miller - 15th
Elise Turner - 17th
Adam Lambert - 33rd
Adam Dickson - 49th