NSWIS riders Adam Lambert (second on day one) and Cameron Bolton (fourth on day two) have recorded strong performances at the double World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia, where there were crashes in both the men’s and women’s events on the fast and demanding course. Unfortunately leading Australian female riders Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff both fell sustaining injuries.

Day One: Lambert claims first medal of the season
 
Adam Lambert has achieved his first podium performance of the season, finishing second in Gudauri, giving the 27-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains the fourth World Cup podium of his career.
 
Lambert qualified in 15th for finals, and went on to have a sensational day of head-to-head racing winning his round of 32, quarter-final and semi-final to advance through to the top four big-final medal round.
 
In the big-final, Lambert was moving between second and third place for much of the race and was fortunately ahead of a crash on the final feature involving Eliot Grondin of Canada and Elias Leitner of Austria, leaving him in second place behind winner Jakob Dusek on Austria. Grondin finished in third and Leitner fourth.
 
“The men’s big final is always really competitive, I have had a few in my time, I would like to have more, but it’s always fun to race all day and not go out in the early rounds, so I am stoked,” said Lambert.
 
“I think tomorrow I can do what I did today, I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on myself, I feel if I race liked I raced today I have a good chance of doing it again, but anything can happen, it’s boarder cross.”
 
In the women’s event, French riders took out the top two places, with Julia Pereira de Sousa in first, Lea Casta second and Italian Michela Moioli in third.
 
Three-time Olympian Belle Brockhoff was in strong form qualifying in third place and made it through to the small-final. Unfortunately, Brockhoff suffered a crash and was taken away by the medical services team on course, ultimately finishing in eighth place. Brockhoff was moved to a hospital in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she is undergoing further assessment with the support of Australian team medical staff.
 
World number three Josie Baff also crashed in the first round of finals finishing ninth and suffering some bruising. NSWIS teammates Mia Clift were 10th and Amber Essex 26th.
 
Other results included Cameron Bolton ninth, Jarryd Hughes 25th, Declan Dent 37th, Matthew Thomas 48th and James Johnstone 50th.

Day Two: Bolton just misses podium
 
Three-time NSWIS Olympian Cameron Bolton was unlucky not to claim a podium performance after a great day of riding on day two in Gudauri, finishing fourth in a closely contested men’s big-final.
 
Bolton advanced through the rounds of 64, 32 and quarter-finals to reach the semi-final round, where he t had an impressive race to advance in first to the big-final medal round against Julien Tomas of France, Austrian Lukas Pachner and another Frenchman Loan Bozzolo.
 
In the big final, Bolton had the early lead but was passed by Pachner and then Tomas, and then with the pack close, Bolton and Bozzolo both went down near the end of the course. Tomas went on to win, Pachner was second and Bozzolo recovered from the crash to cross the line in third leaving Bolton in fourth and uninjured
 
In the women’s event, NSWIS World Championship medallist Josie Baff did not compete on day two, choosing to recover after her crash on the previous day, Mia Clift made it back-to-back top-10’s and Amber Essex was 19th.
 
Adam Lambert finished 18th, Declan Dent had a personal best 23rd, Jarryd Hughes 27th, Mathew Thomas 36th  and James Johnstone 39th.
 
After seven World Cup events, Baff is ranked third on the women’s standings, Clift is 10th, and Bolton is sixth and Lambert ninth in the men’s rankings.
 
The next World Cup is a double event in Montafon, Austria, on March 21 and 22.

Cameron Bolton and Josie Baff have combined to win Australia’s first ever World Cup gold medal in the snowboard cross mixed team event in Erzurum, Türkiye, giving Baff two medals for the weekend after finishing third in the individual event.
 
In the medal round, the Australia 1 team featuring Bolton and Baff were joined by teams Great Britain 1, Austria 1 and USA 2, the men were first to drop followed by the women.
 
Bolton had a great opening leg, leading from start to finish, crossing the line three hundredths of a second ahead of the USA, giving Baff a small lead heading into the final women’s run.
 
In the final run Baff also managed to maintain the lead from start to finish, holding off a strong challenge from Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes to claim victory by four hundredths of a second. Rounding out the podium in third place was Austria.
 
“Cam and I had been wanting to be in a team for a while and he gave me the perfect amount of lead that I needed. I knew that if I had the track to myself, I was going to be hard to pass, so it worked out well for us today and we are really happy,” said Baff the 22-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“Really happy sharing a team with Josie, we are close friends and teammates. She is riding so well I just wanted to come out and make sure that I rode as well as I could and give her every opportunity to shine, and shine she did,” said the 34-year-old Bolton from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
 
Australia has now won mixed team gold medals at both the World Cup and World Championship levels, Belle Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes were World Champions in 2021.
 
The Australia 2 team featuring Jarryd Hughes and Mia Clift finished in 13th.
 
Next for the snowboard cross riders is a World Cup double event in Gudauri, Georgia, on March 8 and 9.

In a double World Cup event in Erzurum, Türkiye, featuring first an individual and then a mixed team race, NSWIS rider Josie Baff made a great start to the weekend with her third podium of the season in a close final that went right to the finish line.
 
Racing under sunny skies on a long demanding course, Baff started strongly winning her quarter-final and then went through to the big final medal round after crossing the line in second place in the semi-final.
 
In the big-final, Baff was in third for most of the race but came close in the final stages to be just narrowly behind Lea Casta of France in second place by 0.12 seconds, and only 0.19 behind winner Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain.
 
“This has been the most demanding course so far on tour” said the 22-year-old Baff from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“The high altitude has really tested a lot of us with the base level around 2500m. The course was fast too, so I’m happy to end the day with another podium.
 
“Up next is the teams event tomorrow and I’ll be paired with Cam Bolton, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
 
Three other NSWIS teammates also made it through to the women’s quarter-final top-16 stage, Belle Brockhoff was 11th in her first event of the season returning from injury, Mia Clift 13th and Amber Essex 14th.
 
In the men’s event German Leon Ulbricht was victorious, Cam Bolton was Australia’s best riding through to the quarter-finals in 16th. In the round of 32 Jarryd Hughes was 19th and Adam Lambert 26th. Missing finals at the qualification stage were Declan Dent 35th, James Johnstone 41st and Matthew Thomas 49th.
 
After five events, Baff is ranked third on the standings with 310 points, trailing Casta in second on 365 and Bankes out in front on 450. Cam Bolton is fifth on the men’s standings.

NSWIS snowboard cross riders Cam Bolton and Josie Baff have finished the season impressively at a double World Cup event in Mont Saint Anne, Canada, where Bolton claimed silver medals on both days and bronze for Baff on day two after just missing a medal on day one.

Bolton finished the season in a career best ranking of third on the World Cup standings, while in the women’s standings Baff just missed her career best ranking, finishing in fourth place with teammate Belle Brockhoff sixth.

Bolton won each round of the finals to advance to the big-final, where he would face off against world number one Eliot Grondin of Canada who had already secured the World Cup Crystal Globe for the season. In the big-final Grondin led from start to finish to take the gold, with Bolton making two impressive passing moves down the course to claim the silver in a photo finish where he edged out German Leon Ulbricht in third.

For Bolton, the silver medal was his fourth podium of the winter and ended his season in career best form.
“First time for sure in the top-3 (on the standings), and these things are pretty hard to win, so very happy to come away with it” said the 33-year-old from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

“Always tricky to back up the second race in a double event, but the sun has come out and the course is maintained so well and an absolute pleasure to race today and was able to come up and put in a pretty good performance and happy with my result and of course the overall.”

Also in action in the men's event was Adam Lambert, who won the small-final to finish in fifth place on day one but was well back in 32nd on day two.

In the women’s event on day one, Baff just missed the podium in fourth place, with Mia Clift making it through to semi-finals for the first time in her career in eighth and Belle Brockhoff in ninth.

On day two Baff and Brockhoff both made it through to the semi-final stage, where Baff won her semi-final to advance to the big-final, while Brockhoff just missed in third. In the small final to decide places five to eight, Brockhoff was also third and finished in seventh.

The women’s big-final featured the top four in the world, and it did not disappoint with tight racing to the finish line. Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain took the victory ahead of Italian Michela Moioli in second and Baff third, to just finish ahead of world number one, Chloe Trespeuch of France.

Baff now has nine World Cup career podiums, five coming this season.

“It was super-fun, I really wanted to do one better after yesterday (fourth place), and I managed to do that, I would have loved something more, but I am very satisfied with the third” said the 21-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

“It was super tight racing with all of the girls, and I think we all showed our best riding and wanted to give it our best for the last two races of the season.”

Trespeuch of France finished first on the women’s World Cup standings on 792 points, followed by Bankes on 757, Moioli 704 and Baff 608.

19-year-old Mia Clift from Melbourne was awarded the FIS Snowboard Cross female rookie of the year, after a promising first full World Cup season, which included a personal best finish of eighth on day one in Mont Saint Anne, and a final ranking of 19th on the standings.

Canadian Eliot Grondin ended well ahead in the men’s standings to finish on 952 points, Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle was second on 604, and Bolton third with 552. Adam Lambert finished the season ranked 12th and Jarryd Hughes was 30th after missing the final three events due to injury.

NSWIS rider Josie Baff has continued her consistent from across the 2023-2024 FIS World Cup season, with a double bronze medal performance in Montafon, Austria. Baff has now claimed four medals this season and is currently ranked fourth on the FIS World Cup standings with two events remaining.

On the first day of World Cup competition at the Austrian resort, Baff moved through to the big-final after advancing through each heat in second place. In the big-final Baff crossed the line in third, behind event winner Michela Moioli of Italy, with Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain the runner up.

In the second and final day in Montafon, Baff this time won every heat to make it through to the big-final, crossing the line in the bronze medal position to claim the eighth World Cup podium of the 21-year-old from Jindabyne’s career. Finishing ahead of Baff on the podium was Chloe Trespeuch of France with the gold medal with American Lindsey Jacobellis in silver.

Belle Brockhoff finished in 13th place on day one, then improved to reach the small-final on day two, to finishin sixth place which is also her current World Cup ranking.

19-year-old Mia Clift had two personal best performances, firstly in qualifying advancing to finals in fifth, and then finishing in ninth place on day one. On day two Clift placed 16th.

In the men’s competition, Adam Lambert was the best performed with a fifth place finish on day one, while Cam Bolton the highest placed on day two in ninth.

Unfortunately, Jarryd Hughes had a fall on day one while finishing 32nd, and forcing him out of the second day event.
Bolton is the highest ranked male on the standings in a career best third, with Adam Lambert still aiming to finish in the top-ten and improve on his current ranking of 11th.

The final competition of the World Cup season will take next weekend at Mont Saint Anne in Quebec, Canada, with two events scheduled for March 23 and 24.

Jarryd Hughes has returned to the World Cup podium for the first time in over six years, with a bronze medal performance under lights in Cortina d’Amprezzo, Italy, with four Australian riders finishing in the top-eight at the future site of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The NSWIS rider made a great start to the event, with his best qualifying performance of the season, making it through to finals in fourth place. In finals, Hughes won his heat in the round of 32 and quarter-final to advance to the semi-final round where teammate Cameron Bolton joined him.

In the semi-final, Hughes advanced to the big-final medal round after crossing the line in second place, with Bolton in fourth place which put him in the small-final to decide places five through eight.

Hughes crossed the line in third place in the big-final to give him the fourth World Cup podium of his career, while world number one Eliot Grondin of Canada claimed the victory and Jake Veder of the USA was second. Bolton won the small-final to finish in fifth place.

In the women’s event, Josie Baff and Belle Brockhoff were both drawn in the same heat in finals, and advanced through to the semi-finals together after placing first and second in the quarter-final. In the semi-final Brockhoff placed third and Baff fourth, which put them in the small-final.

Baff won the small-final, giving her a final ranking of fifth, with Brockhoff unfortunately crashing in the bottom section after clipping a control gate and finished seventh.

After the race the 28-year-old PyeongChang Olympic silver medallist from Sydney posted on his social media.

"18-months off and third place in Cortina! Thanks to everyone who supported me through the time off. So good to be back on the box!"

Also in action for Australia was Mia Clift in 12th place, which matches her personal best World Cup result set last week in Spain, Adam Lambert was 43rd and Declan Dent 56th.

With only four events remaining in the season, Cameron Bolton is the highest ranked Australian on the World Cup standings in third place, in the women Josie Baff is fifth and Belle Brockhoff is sixth.

Next weekend a double event takes place in Montafon, Austria, on March 16 and 17.

NSWIS rider Josie Baff claimed the sixth World Cup podium of her career, placing second overnight at the second Sierra Nevada Snowboard Cross World Cup event in Spain, in what could be described as her very own “Steven Bradbury” moment.

In the women’s final, the 21-year-old was trailing at the back of the field and looking likely to miss the podium, but on the finish line, race leaders Chloe Trespeuch of France and Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes sensationally collided, leaving Italy's Michela Moioli and Baff to cross the line and take the gold and silver medals.

As the race jury reviewed the contact, both riders remained down. Trespeuch was lying flat on her back only centimetres on the wrong side of the finish line, while Bankes had the presence of mind to shuffle over it on her backside. With the result confirmed, a concerned Baff then dashed back from the finish area to help Trespeuch onto her feet, while Bankes was able to walk gingerly down the slope alongside Moioli.

Teammate Belle Brockhoff was unfortunately on the wrong side of the close racing on the tight course in Spain, when the three-time Olympian was taken out in her quarter-final heat during a three-rider collision. Brockhoff was subsequently advanced to the semi-final, but was unable to start after the crash, giving her a final ranking of eighth.

The third female rider in the top-16 for Australia was 19-year-old NSWIS rider Mia Clift, who had a personal best result after finishing in 12th place.

“Today was a lot of fun,” said the 2023 World Championship medallist Baff from Jindabyne in the NSW Snow Mountains.

“I was making a few mistakes in the earlier heats and I’m glad I was able to get my head in the right place and be in the game.”

“I seem to have been in a small-final curse for the last couple of races, so I was super happy to make the big-final. Hopefully everyone can get to Cortina in good nick – there was a nasty crash in the final, so I hope everyone is all good and ready to race again.”

In the men’s event NSWIS riders Cam Bolton and Adam Lambert both performed well making it through to the small-final, finishing in fifth and sixth place respectively. Also in action for Australia was Jarryd Hughes in 24th and Declan Dent 59th. 

The podium performance sees Baff move into third place on the FIS World Cup standings on 333 points, trailing Trespeuch in first place on 490, with Brockhoff in fifth with 323.

Canadian Eliot Grondin is in first place on the men’s standings with 620 points, with Bolton in third place on 292 and Lambert in ninth on 177.

Five events remain this season, with the next event set to take place on March 9 in Cortina d’Amprezzo, Italy, site of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Sierra Nevada WC #1: Small-final for Brockhoff and Baff

In the first of two snowboard cross World Cup events in Sierra Nevada, Spain, the competition was held under difficult conditions, with poor visibility forcing a number of course delays throughout the event.

Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff both advanced through to the semi-final round and were drawn in the same heat, but unfortunately finished outside the top-two required to advance to the big-final, which relegated both to the small-final consolation round to decide places five to eight.

In the small final, Brockhoff finished third and had a final ranking of seventh, with Baff one place behind in eighth. Mia Clift just missed out qualifying for the top-16 finals, finishing 18th.

In the men's event, Cam Bolton was the only Australian rider to qualify for finals, finishing in 23rd place, with NSWIS teammates Adam Lambert 36th, Jarryd Hughes 42nd and Declan Dent 61st.

It was a double medal performance for Australia in the second World Cup event in Gudauri, Georgia, Cameron Bolton replicated his silver medal from the previous day and NSWIS teammate Belle Brockhoff was also on the podium claiming a bronze medal in the women's event.

Canadian Eliot Grondin made it back-to-back victories in Gudauri, and Bolton finished second in a close photo finish over Omar Visintin of Italy.

Bolton has won two medals this season and six career medals, while improving his World Ranking from fifth to third after five events this season.

"It was pretty crazy today, it was a little bit closer than yesterday", said Bolton.

"I tried to set Eliot (Grondin) up, he's riding so well, but there is a fair bit of draft and I tried to cross him in the finish on the right hand side and absorb, but sort of missed it and caught a bit of my tail on the lip and bounced."

"When I came out of the snow cloud I sort of thought maybe my tail was in the direct of the line, and saw Omar right there, so I thought maybe I just got it, but thought he probably had it, and on the transponders too is said he was a little ahead, but the transponder was on my front foot which wasn't near the line, so stocked to get it (second place) in a photo finish."

In the women's event, Brockhoff achieved her 17th career podium and third medal of the season.

Brockhoff moved through the quarter-final and semi-final rounds in second place to reach the big-final, where she led with French rider Chloe Trespeuch for most of the race, before Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain passed both athletes at the finish line to take the win, Trespeuch second and Brockhoff third.

NSWIS teammate Josie Baff also made it through to the small final, finishing sixth for the second time in Gudauri.

"I just wanted to have fun to be honest, I had about nine hours sleep over the past two days, so I was pretty tired and had a shocker of a race yesterday, so I just needed to figure out the start section and from there I just had fun," said the 31-year-old Brockhoff from Melbourne.

"It was really good racing the three other top girls and I knew it was going to be such a fight."

The result puts Brockhoff third on the World Cup standings, with Baff just behind in fifth place.
Also in action for Australia in the men's event was Adam Lambert in 32nd and Jarryd Hughes 44th.

NSWIS snowboard cross rider Cam Bolton has claimed the fifth podium performance of his career in Gudauri, Georgia, with a silver medal performance.

At the last World Cup stop in St Moritz, Switzerland, Bolton had an uncharacteristic performance in 52nd place, which no doubt motivated the three-time Olympian to redeem himself this weekend at the Georgian resort, with his first podium performance in two years.

Bolton made a great start to the event qualifying in second place, and in finals won the round of 32, quarter-final and semi-final round to advance through to his first big-final medal round of the season.

In the big-final, world number one, Eliot Grondin from Canada, led from start to finish to claim the victory, with Bolton and 2022 Olympic gold medallist Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria doing their best to chase down the Canadian. Bolton moved ahead of Haemmerle in the bottom half of the course to take the silver, with Haemmerle settling for the bronze.

“The course was super fun, but definitely not easy to stay in front and no matter what you are always going to be attacked by the riders behind you and it was really close, but fun racing,” said the 33-year-old Bolton from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

“Definitely stoked to make it to the big-final, and it was close on that second last turn, but some really good racing from everything I saw and really enjoyable, looking forward to coming out and doing it again tomorrow.”

Also in action for Australia in the men’s event was Adam Lambert in seventh in the small final and Jarryd Hughes recording his best result of the season in 12th place.

In the women’s event 2023 World Championship medallist Josie Baff was the best placed Australian finisher in sixth after making it through to the small, while Belle Brockhoff was tenth making it thought to the quarter-final round.

NSWIS snowboarder Josie Baff has finished in fifth place in St Moritz, Switzerland, and her third top-8 performance of the season.

Baff made it through to the semi-final stage, where a small mistake saw her miss out on making it into the big-final after placing third.

In the small-final to decide places 5-8, Baff had a great race to finish first across the line for the fifth place ranking.

Three-time Olympian Belle Brockhoff finished in 9th reaching the quarter-final stage, with Mia Clift also qualifying for finals but unable to start after injuring her knee in training, giving her a final ranking of 15th.

"This is probably the closest I will get to racing at home whilst overseas with all my family here, it's been really nice," said the recently turned 21-year-old Baff from Jindabyne in NSW.

"I did a littler error in my semi-final, but I was really happy with how I performed in the small-final."

"We had a few changes to the course and it definitely sped up since yesterday, and it's been fun to try and figure out what to do with changes on the speed every run so you never know if you are going to double or stay on the ground, so learning that decision making whilst you are racing."

Adam Lambert was the highest placed finisher for Australia in the men's event in 13th, NSWIS teammates Jarryd Hughes finished in 45th and Cam Bolton was 52nd.

After three events Brockhoff is ranked third and Baff fourth on the World Cup standings, with Adam Lambert sixth, Cam Bolton eighth and Jarryd Hughes 35th in the men's standings.

The snowboard cross World Cup tour now moves to Georgia, where a double event is scheduled at the Gudauri resort.

Ski Cross World Cup
A ski cross World Cup also took place in St Moritz, where Doug Crawford finished in 38th place.
Snow Australia skier Liam Michael finished 57th on debut.

On the final day in Cervinia, Australia had their second straight fourth place result in the mixed team event, repeating their effort from the previous event in Les Deux Alpes.

This time Adam Lambert was joined by Belle Brockhoff, with the pair second in the quarter-final, and first in the semi-final to advance to the big-final medal round.

In the big final, Lambert finished the first leg in third position with all teams very close together in time.

In the final leg, Brockhoff also took part in a close final with all teams capable of taking the win, but unfortunately crossed the line in fourth to just miss a medal.

The snowboard cross athletes will now be a on a break from competition until the first World Cup of 2024 in St Moritz, Switzerland, which will take place on January 25-26.

Australia’s female wintersport athletes have made it a four medal weekend to open the World Cup season, with aerial skier Danielle Scott claiming a silver medal in Ruka, Finland, and snowboard cross rider Belle Brockhoff finishing with a bronze in Les Deux Alpes, France, overnight.

Earlier in the weekend mogul skier Jakara Anthony took gold in Ruka and Tess Coady silver in the snowboard big air in Beijing, China.

In the French Alps Belle Brockhoff had her first podium result in almost two years, with a bronze medal performance at the snowboard cross World Cup in Les Deux Alpes.

Brockhoff qualified for finals in third place, and won her quarter-final round to advance to the semi-final, where she was matched up against teammate Josie Baff. In the semi-final, Brockhoff again was the first across the line with Baff just missing out on advancing to the big final and medal round in third place.

In the final Brockhoff made a good start, but was unable to pass Chloe Trespeuch of France who took the win. Italian rider and 2018 Olympic Champion Michela Moioli was in second and Brockhoff third, registering the 15th World Cup podium of her career.

Baff finished third in the small final to decide places five to eight, giving her a final ranking of seventh.

“It feels great, it was actually a massive relief for me, I have trained so many new things this year like bindings, boards, coach, tech, just everything, just took a risk to change it up and it’s a big relief that its’ working for me so I am very excited,” said the 30-year-old Brockhoff from Melbourne.

“In the final we all went in pretty hot fighting for that number one position, turn four is really tight and Jana (Fischer) and I got close to each other and just made the best of what we had and it was a really good day for all of us.”

In the men’s event Cam Bolton followed up his good form from the team event on the previous day to finish in fifth place after winning the small final, with Jarryd Hughes 15th in his first World Cup event since the Beijing Olympic Winter Games in February 2022.

Also in action for Australia missing out on finals racing were Amber Essex in 17th in her World Cup debut, Mia Clift 19th, James Johnstone 60th on debut, Declan Dent in 62nd and Adam Lambert 63rd.

Next up for snowboard cross is the final World Cup before Christmas with a double event scheduled to take place in Cervinia, Italy, on December 16-17. 

The first Snowboard Cross event of the new year has taken place under lights in Cortina d'Amprezzoo, Italy, with Belle Brockhoff the highest placed Australian just missing out on the big final in sixth place.

The NSWIS athlete won her opening quarter final heat, and finished third in the semi-final to just miss advancing to the big final medal round.

Competing in the consolation round small final, Brockhoff crossed the finish line in second, to give her a final ranking of sixth..

Also in action for Australia were NSWIS riders Josie Baff in ninth, Cameron Bolton in 18th and Adam Lambert 21st.

After four races, Baff is ranked third on the World Cup standings, with Brockhoff in eighth despite missing the previous World Cup. In the men's rankings Bolton is in 12th with Lambert in 16th.

The next event for the Snowboard Cross athletes is the FIS World Championships, which will take place in Bakuriani, Georgia, on March 2-4. 

NSWIS teenage snowboarder Josie Baff has claimed the second medal of her World Cup career, in yet another impressive display in Cervinia, Italy.

Competing in a double World Cup in Cervinia on the Italian-Swiss border, on the first day of competition Belle Brockhoff was the leading performer, unlucky not to finish on the podium, with a super impressive second place qualifying performance and then reaching the top four big-final. Unfortunately in the final, Brockhoff collided with another rider half way down the course ending her race. Brockhoff may have suffered a concussion in the collision, ruling her out for the second world cup event the following day.

Also in action for Australia on day one was Josie Baff in tenth, Cameron Bolton 18th and Adam Lambert 23rd.
On day two, Baff performed extremely well winning her round of 32 and 16 heats to reach the semi-final. Against strong competition in the semi-final featuring multiple Olympic medallists, Baff finished in the top two to advance to the big-final medal round for the second time this season.

In a hotly contested final, Baff led for most of the race, and when challenged held on to secure the silver medal, finishing just behind Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain, with Chloe Trespeuch of France in third.

“Pretty overwhelmed, I am very happy with how I rode today, and after yesterday it was nice to be back on the podium for the second time” said the 19-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

“I am grateful for my wax technicians - my board was flying out of the start, I couldn't have done it without them and my coaches and whole team.”

Heading into the Christmas and New Year break, Baff is ranked second in the world on the standings after three events.

Cameron Bolton and Adam Lambert improved their performance on day two, with both making the top-ten, finishing in equal ninth place.

The Snowboard Cross World Cup tour will resume on January 27-28 in Cortina d'Amprezzo, Italy.

Australia’ Josie Baff has made an incredible start to the World Cup season, winning gold overnight in the opening snowboard cross event in Les Deux Alpes, France.
 
The podium performance is also the first of the 19-year-old teenagers’ career in just her eighth World Cup start, becoming just the second Australian female snowboard cross rider to win a World Cup event.
 
The Jindabyne local was in great form at the French resort, qualifying for finals in fourth place under sunny conditions. Heavy wind and snowfall then set in, with the event postponed 24 hours. Conditions improved slightly for the new competition day but was still difficult for all competitors.
 
Baff continued her fast riding into finals, winning her quarter final round and placing second in the semi final to reach the first big final medal round of her career.
 
In the big final, Baff had another great start and was in the top two for the first half of the course. Baff then made her move hitting the front and was able to fend off all challenges to cross the line in first place.
 
Finishing behind Baff on the podium were French riders Chloe Trespeuch and Lea Casta with Lara Casanova of Switzerland in fourth.
 
“I am very overwhelmed right now, but thankyou to everyone, my coaches, my wax techs and hello to my family back home” said Baff as she caught her breath in the finish area.
 
“I still can’t believe this has happened.”
 
In the men’s event, both Cameron Bolton and Adam Lambert made it through to the quarter final round, with Bolton finishing in ninth place and Lambert in 12th. Belle Brockhoff was the seventh fastest qualifier, but did not start in finals, giving her a final ranking of 15th.
 
The snowboard cross athletes will next be in action in the Italian resort of Cervinia, competing in a World Cup event on December 16.

Josie Baff has a had a memorable finish to the World Cup season in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, recording a personal best seventh place and taking home the FIS Snowboard Cross Rookie of the Year award.
 
Baff was drawn in the quarter final stage against 2022 double Olympic Champion Lindsey Jacobellis of the USA, and crossed the line in second place ahead of the American to advance through to the semi-final stage for the first time in her career.
 
In the semi final, Baff was unable to progress to the big final in fourth, and finished in third place in the consolation small final to give her a personal best overall ranking of seventh.
 
Cam Bolton was the highest place Australian in the men’s event after finishing in ninth, with Adam Lambert and Adam Dickson both in 17th.
 
In the end of season World Cup standings, Belle Brockhoff was the highest ranked Australian in fourth place despite missing the last two events. Baff finished her first full World Cup season in 16th.
 
Bolton was our highest ranked male in seventh, with Lambert 11th and Dixon 16th.

Australia's two snowboard cross mixed teams were unable to finish in the quarter-finals, with Belle Brockhoff treated for an injury sustained on course.

Triple Olympians Cam Bolton and Belle teamed up, while Jindabyne's Josie Baff and Adam Lambert formed Australia's second team in the new Olympic event.

In Snowboard cross four male athletes race first and the time advantage the winning male has is transferred to his female teammate, with the other three women leaving the start gate in a staggered format. The top two women to finish secure a place for their team in the next round.

Australia's two teams were drawn to compete in the same quarter-final. Cam and Adam were the two fastest starters in their run, with Cam finishing fastest and Adam just .42 seconds behind in third.

But it wasn't to be Australia's day, with Josie taking a tumble and moments later Belle clipped the board of another rider to lose her balance and suffer a fall.

Josie made her way down the course shortly after, but the competition was stopped for Belle to receive medical attention on the course.

Belle complained of a sore neck and was subsequently taken to hospital as a precaution for imaging.

Those scans were all clear and Belle will be heading back to re-join her teammates at the Athletes Village.

Speaking with Channel 7 after being eliminated from the competition, Cam had Belle in his thoughts and reflected on the race.

"First of all I hope she (Belle) is doing well. I heard from the team that she's doing OK and it's just precautionary and they think everything is good," Cam said.

"Hopefully that's the case. [To lose in the quarter-finals] was really disappointing. It's just one of those things.

"Lambo and Josie – I'm so sorry for them too. Josie had such a great start, she was coming in fast behind Lindsey [Jacobellis] (USA) who won gold the other day."

Adam found himself in an intense run.

"The men's races are always super tight," Adam said.

"Cam and [Nick] Baumgartner (USA) are incredible riders. I just wanted to win. I tried really hard."

The conditions were significantly different to what the snowboarders had in their earlier Olympic events, with it snowing at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park making the course slower, which changed the entire dynamic for racing and strategy.

"There is so much snow [falling], the course is tricky," Cam said.

"It's hard to clear the jumps in the middle."

For more snowboarding action you can catch Beijing 2022 bronze medallist Tess Coady and Matt Cox in big air qualifying on Tuesday 15 February.

olympics.com.au
Jeff Dickinson-Fox

Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff experienced the highs and lows of sport when they took part in the women's snowboard cross at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park.

Belle, now a triple Olympian, fought back from an opening run admittedly below her standards to secure a spot in the final and finish fourth overall.

While it wasn't the result she was aiming for, Belle had the whole of Australia along for the ride.

"I have a lot of fight in me, and the more the sport kicks me down the more I come back harder," Belle said.

"I did that (today), each lap I got better and better and better.

"But the final didn't go quite my way. I really did back myself in winning gold and I know I can beat these girls any other day.

"But sport's cutthroat and it just didn't fall into place for me."

Belle was assigned the 18th seed out of 32 competitors to begin the 1/8 finals based on her opening two runs, which by her own admission was well below her expectations.

But she delivered each time during the finals, outclassing many of the favourites to hold on until the end.

Her Aussie teammate Josie, who made her Olympic debut today as a 19-year-old, produced an opening run fast enough to finish in the top 16 and qualify straight through to the finals.

Despite not progressing past the 1/8 final, Josie has gained a lot of experience she'll carry through.

"The Olympics have been really awesome. Having two days of training really helped me," Josie said.

"I really felt like … I was progressing every run, getting better and faster.

"I was really looking forward to racing, because my favourite part is racing three people down the track. I'm pretty bummed that was cut short.

"I'll take this experience and bring it into the next Games for sure."

Belle and Josie will now be cheering on their male teammates who'll line up tomorrow in the snowboard cross from 2:15pm AEDT.

olympics.com.au
Lauren Ryan

Australia's snowboard cross athletes have taken part in a World Cup doubleheader in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, with a number of strong performances, just missing the podium on three occasions.
 
In the first event, Belle Brockhoff made the big final, finishing fourth, with 2020 Youth Olympic champion Josie Baff finishing in ninth. On the men’s side, Adam Dickson made the small final, finishing seventh, Cam Bolton 13th, Adam Lambert 17th and Jarryd Hughes 36th.
 
Brockhoff again surged to make the big final and came close again in fourth, with Baff in 17th. Adam Lambert made the big final on the men’s side for Australia’s third fourth-place finish of the weekend, with Dickson in sixth, Bolton in ninth and Hughes in 17th.

After five events, Brockhoff is currently ranked third in the world on the women's World Cup standings, with Adam Lambert (10th), Cam Bolton (11th) and Adam Dickson (14th) all ranked in the top-15 in the men's standings.

The snowboard cross athletes will now return to central Europe to train ahead of the final World Cup event before the Olympics in Cortina d'Amprezzo, Italy, on January 29.

Bell Brockhoff has continued her strong start to the World Cup snowboard cross season, claiming the silver medal overnight in Montafon, Austria.
 
The podium performance sees the 28-year-old from Melbourne move up to third place on the World Cup standings after two events.
 
Brockhoff reached the big final after taking out victories in the quarter and semi final heats. In a closely contested final with several lead changes, Brockhoff was just edged at the finish line behind Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain, with Chloe Trespeuch of France in third.
 
“It’s really good to be back on the podium”, said a happy Brockhoff after collecting the 13th World Cup medal of her career.
 
“I was a bit rusty at the opening World Cup in China, but it was good to get the cobwebs out and bring in some good momentum into this race.
 
In her second World Cup start, 18-year-old Josie Baff from Jindabyne had an impressive qualifying performance, advancing to finals in second place. Baff finished third in her quarter-final heat to give her a personal best ninth place finish.
 
“Definitely a little bit bittersweet today”, said the 2020 Youth Olympic Games gold medallist.
 
“Really stoked to get my first top ten result, but wished it was under different circumstances where I was happy with my riding and run top to bottom.”
 
“But as always, there are heaps of things to take away and put into action for the World Cup in Cervinia next week.”
 
Also in action for Australia was Jarryd Hughes (22nd), Mia Clift (26th), Cam Bolton (26th), Declan Dent (29th), Adam Dickson (33rd), Kobi Dent (47th) and Adam Lambert (57th).
 
The snowboard cross athletes will be back in action tonight competing in the mixed team event in Montafon. 2021 mixed team World Champion’s Brockhoff and Hughes will team up again for Australia.
 
The mixed team event will debut at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

Australia’s snowboard cross athletes have had a successful test run on the Beijing 2022 Olympic course, with Adam Lambert and Belle Brockhoff recording encouraging semi-final performances at the World Cup event in Secret Garden, China.
 
Lambert was particularly impressive and looks well suited to the Secret Garden track, qualifying for finals in seventh place, and rode well to record wins in the round of 32 and 16 to advance through to the semi-final.
 
In the semi-final round, Lambert had some good sections out front and led for parts of the race, but just missed out on advancing to the big-final in third place. Lambert bounced back in the small final, crossing the line for the win to finish the day ranked fifth overall.
 
“Not a bad week, I qualified seventh and finished fifth and I always try to beat my qualifying result so I am happy with that”, said the 24-year-old Olympian from Jindabyne.
 
“This course is really my style, I love gliding and flat basing, and I am short, which helps when there are head winds.
 
“China is definitely a different place, we are used to competing in Europe and North America, but all in all it was run really well.”
 
In the women’s finals, Brockhoff advanced through the quarter-final round in second place, and then had to face off in the semi-finals against Olympic gold medallists Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic and Michaela Moioli of Italy. In a tough race, Brockhoff just missed out on making it though to the big final in third place. In the small-final, Brockhoff finished second, to finish the event in sixth place.
 
“Mixed feelings from today, I came here to win, I know I have the ability and have the drive to, but it just didn’t come together for me at this race” said the 28-year-old Mixed Team World Champion from Melbourne.
 
“I had a heavy hit in training just before heats, but I powered through, so happy I can fight through like that.”
 
“They did a really good job here, they wanted to put on a good event, and they did, the track, accommodation and facilities for teams were well put together. Hopefully they can improve even further on that I am looking forward to the Olympic Games.”
 
The men’s event was won by Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle Eva Samkova taking the win in the women’s event.
 
Also in action for Australia was 2018 Olympic silver medallist Jarryd Hughes in 12th place, Adam Dickson 16th, Cam Bolton 31st, and in her World Cup debut 17-year-old Mia Clift finished 22nd.
 
The snowboard cross athletes will next be in action when the World Cup tour resumes in Montafon, Austria, with the single event on December 10 and mixed-team event on December 11.

The Australian Snowboard Cross team have competed in a double World Cup event in Bakuriani, Georgia, with some promising performances at the penultimate event of the season.

On day one, Youth Olympic Games Gold Medallist Josie Baff made her World Cup debut and was the highest place Australian finisher in 15th position. Baff’s NSWIS teammates Adam Dickson made it through to the quarter-final round finishing in 16th place, with Adam Lambert in 25th.

On day two, Dickson was in great form winning his heat in the round of 32 and 16 to make it through to the semi-final stage for the first time this season.

In the semi-final, Dickson was in third position half way down the course, but mistimed a feature which took him out of the heat.

Dickson then competed in the consolation small final, where he placed fourth to give him a final ranking of eighth place, his best result of the season.

Adam Lambert finished third in his round of 32 heat to finish in 17th place. Baff did not start on day two.

Unfortunately, Belle Brockhoff sustained an injury during official training and had to withdraw from both days of competition and will conclude her season.

The final World Cup of the season will take place in Veysonnaz, Switzerland, on March 20. The event will be a reduced field with just the top 16 women and top 32 men in action.

Adam Lambert and Adam Dickson have both qualified to compete in the World Cup final, sitting in 21st and 25th place respective on the standings.

2018 Olympic silver medallist Jarryd Hughes is currently the third reserve in 35th place, after only racing in one World Cup event this season.

IMAGE: Adam Dickson (green bib) dropping from the start gate in Bakurian © FIS

NSWIS snowboarder Jarryd Hughes has continued his strong recent form with a tenth place finish in the snowboard cross World Cup event in Reiteralm, Austria.

The 2018 Olympic silver medalist qualified for finals in 11th place, and made a great start to heat racing winning in the round of 32.

In the quarter final round, Hughes just missed out on advancing to the next stage finishing third in his heat, giving him a final placing of tenth.

Also in action were NSWIS teammates Adam Dickson in 31st and Adam Lambert in 36th.

Unfortunately World Championship mixed team gold medalist Belle Brockhoff was unable to compete due to knee soreness, but is expected to return to training in the next weeks.

2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games Champion Josie Baff has recently joined the Snowboard Cross team in Europe for the remainder of the season with an aim to begin the qualification process towards Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.

The snowboard cross team will next head to Bakuriani, Georgia, for a double World Cup event on March 4 and 5.

IMAGE: Jarryd Hughes taking in the sun at Reiteralm © Jarryd Hughes Instagram

Australian has won a historic World Championship gold medal in the snowboard cross mixed teams event in Idre Fjäll, Sweden.
 
The Australian team featured NSWIS riders, 2018 Olympic silver medallist Jarryd Hughes and multiple World Cup winner Belle Brockhoff, who delivered Australia’s first ever mixed teams medal in the new Olympic event which will debut in Beijing 2022.
 
The mixed teams event is a two-competitor-per-team relay with one male and female athlete. The male athletes race first, with the women leaving the start gate with the respective time margin that the men crossed the finish line.
 
In the medal round, Hughes got Australia off to a great start in the final with impressive riding to cross the line in first place, 0.77 seconds ahead of the Italian team.
 
Brockhoff then raced exceptionally well to take the victory finishing 0.64 seconds ahead of the Italian team with France crossing the line in third place.
 
“Well, this is as good as it gets! We haven’t raced in a team event before ever. We knew we could do it and we were really confident in our abilities, then we just set out a really good game plan among the two of us and maximized our strengths and I am just lucky to have had such a strong rider like Belle to be riding with,” said Hughes after stepping off the podium.
 
“I am really stoked to be here, especially after yesterday’s fall, it’s a bit of a redemption, so I am very happy and very excited,” teammate Brockhoff said.
 
The mixed teams gold is the first Australian snowboard cross World Championship gold medal since the late Alex “Chumpy” Pulllin won his second consecutive World title in 2013.

The NSWIS snowboard cross athletes will now head to the Austrian resort of Reiteralm for a World Cup event on February 18.