NSWIS snowboarder Adam Lambert capped off the FIS World Cup season in style, with gold at the final event of the season in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada. The victory is Lambert’s second of his career, giving him four podium finishes for the season, and a career‑high second place World Cup ranking.
 
Lambert was in outstanding form throughout the day in Mont-Sainte-Anne, winning all of his heats to progress to the big final and set up a Crystal Globe showdown with German tour leader Leon Ulbricht, who held a 42‑point advantage heading into the race. To claim the World Cup title, Lambert needed to win the final and Ulbricht to be fourth.
 
The big final was a very tight final race where Lambert timed his run perfectly. Utilising his renowned drafting skills, he made his move into the lead in the lower section of the course and held on to cross the line first. Ulbricht finished second to secure the Crystal Globe with 435 ranking points, 22 ahead of Lambert on 413, while Canada’s Evan Bichon rounded out the podium in third.
 
“Today we had so much draft out of turn five, we were really trying to be in a certain place coming into the last turn, this kind of course suits my riding style,” said the 28‑year‑old Lambert from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“I couldn’t be happier today, this is exactly what I needed to do to have any shot at the Crystal Globe. Ulbricht managed to pull out second place which is incredible for him, I am just happy that I did exactly what I wanted, I can’t complain at all.”
 
Abbey Wilson recorded a personal‑best eighth place in the women’s event, narrowly missing advancement to the big final in her first career semi‑final appearance after a photo finish decided by centimetres.
 
Milano‑Cortina Olympic champion Josie Baff was unfortunately taken out in her quarter-final by French rider Julia Nirani-Pereira, who received a penalty. The result saw Baff finish ninth on the day and close the season ranked fourth overall on the World Cup standings. Teammate Mia Clift placed 15th in the event and ended the season ranked eighth.
 
Also competing in the men’s event was James Johnstone, who recorded a personal‑best 21st.

NSWIS snowboard cross rider Adam Lambert has secured the first World Cup victory of his career and extended his lead in the World Cup standings on the second day of competition in Dongbeiya, China. The result gives him back‑to‑back podium finishes in China and his third straight podium to open the season, an encouraging sign with the Olympic Winter Games in Italy only weeks away.
 
Competing in the prestigious yellow leader’s bib for the first time in his career, Lambert delivered a strong performance in qualifying, securing sixth place to advance comfortably into finals.
 
In finals, Lambert opened strongly, winning his round‑of‑32 heat, placing second in the quarterfinals, and then taking first place in the semifinal to move through to the big‑final medal round.
 
In the big final, Lambert made an excellent start, exiting the first turn in second place behind Italy’s Lorenzo Sommarvia. He remained close behind the Italian for much of the race before using his drafting skills to move into the lead. He held that position to the finish in a tightly contested run, crossing the finish line in first just ahead of Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle in second and the USA’s Nathan Pare in third, with Sommarvia fourth.
 
The long-awaited win came in Lambert’s 75th career World Cup start across individual and team events. Before today, Lambert had recorded eight career podium finishes but had not yet stood on the top step.
 
In the women’s event, NSWIS teammate Mia Clift delivered her strongest performance of the season so far, narrowly missing the podium after finishing fourth in the big final. The French team secured the top two positions, with Julia Nirani‑Pereira taking the win and Chloe Trespeuch second, while Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain was third.
 
Josie Baff also rode well, progressing to the semifinals before a third‑place finish moved her into the small final to contest positions five through eight. She went on to win the small final, and  fifth place overall.
 
“I came in today and yesterday with a pretty solid plan, and that was to not lead at the beginning, but finish first at the bottom, and I managed to execute that to perfection. I can’t believe it, I am so stocked,” said 28-year-old Lambert from Jindabyne in the NSW Snow Mountains.
 
When asked how important this victory is on the way to the Olympics and keep the momentum going:
 
“Of course it does, but it’s just important for me personally as an athlete who had been competing for so long, and this is my very first win and I am just so excited that it’s finally happened.”
 
Other Australian performances included Cam Bolton, who advanced to the quarterfinals and finished 16th, and James Johnstone, who placed 24th after reaching the round of 32. Abbey Wilson (31st), Jarryd Hughes (36th), and Declan Dent (51st) did not progress to finals.
 
Lambert’s victory elevates him to 220 points at the top of the World Cup standings, 59 points clear of Canada’s Eliot Grondin in second on 161. In the women’s standings, Baff sits in second place on 185 points, just four behind leader Charlotte Bankes on 189, while Clift is eighth on106 points.
 
The Australian Snowboard Cross Team now heads to Europe for training ahead of the Olympic Winter Games next month.

NSWIS snowboarders Josie Baff and Adam Lambert have each claimed their second consecutive podium of the season at the FIS World Cup Snowboard Cross event in Dongbeiya, China, with Baff taking silver and Lambert bronze. Their strong performances elevate the two athletes from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains to first place in the World Cup standings, earning them the coveted yellow leader’s bib.
 
After qualifying sixth on Friday, Baff opened strongly in finals, winning her quarter-final and finishing second in her semi-final to progress to the big final.
 
In a tightly contested race, Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain won, with Baff taking silver and France’s Chloé Trespeuch third. This was the16th World Cup podium of Baff’s career.
 
Mia Clift featured in the small final, finishing seventh, her best result so far this season.
 
In the men’s event, Lambert overcame a challenging opening round of qualifying, advancing via the second run in 23rd place. Once in finals, he delivered a strong display, winning his round of 32 quarter-final, and semi-final, to secure his place in the big final medal round.
 
Victory in the men’s big final went to Austria’s Jakob Dusek, Canada’s Eliot Grondin second, and Lambert was third , his eighth World Cup podium.
 
Lambert commented after the race:
 
“The course in China is very short, very sharp, things are coming at you quickly here and you’ve got to be ready. I came in today with a plan I wanted to execute, and I managed to execute that plan. said 28-year-old two-time Olympian.
 
“For sure this feels like the best form of my career, but Boardercross is a cruel sport, and your luck can change on a dime. Of course, this gives me confidence going into the Olympic Games, but I need to stay grounded in the reality that I’ve got to work for every inch on the track. No freebies.”
 
On wearing the yellow bib for the first time in his career, Lambert added:
 
“Yes, it absolutely does feel like an honour. Obviously just two races into the season anything can happen but for now I will savour the feeling, and to do it at the same time as Josie who was my neighbour for most of my childhood is a special privilege.”
 
Other Australian results included Cam Bolton and Abbey Wilson progressing to the quarterfinals, with Bolton finishing tenth and Wilson achieving a personal best of 16th. Jarryd Hughes placed 23rd in his return from injury, James Johnston was 24th, and Declan Dent placed 52nd, missing the finals. Unfortunately, Amber Essex did not compete after sustaining a knee injury in training and will undergo further assessment after returning to Australia.
 
After two World Cup events, Baff led the women’s standings with 140 points, 10 ahead of Italy’s Michela Moioli on 130. In the men’s standings, Lambert sits atop with 120 points, holding a 10‑point advantage over Grondin.

NSWIS snowboarders have opened the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup season strongly, with Josie Baff and Adam Lambert claiming bronze medals in Cervinia, Italy, under clear skies and the backdrop of the iconic Matterhorn.
 
Both riders from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains delivered great riding throughout the day, with Baff securing her 15th career World Cup podium and Lambert earning his seventh.
 
After qualifying in second place on Friday, Baff opened strongly, winning her quarter-final before just edging out Austria’s Pia Zerkhold in a photo finish during the semi-final to advance to the big final.
 
In a very close medal race, victory went to France’s Lea Casta, with Italian Michela Moioli second 0.07 seconds behind and Baff third just 0.14 seconds off the win.
 
“I love the first race of the season, I am eager to get back racing and I want to beat all of the girls, so I think that’s a big motivating factor for me,” said 22-year-old Baff.
 
“I have been trying to work on qualifying higher, and I was really happy to come out with second yesterday and that meant I had my choice of gate all day in finals.
 
“My plan was to win the start section, but in the final I made a mistake in turn one and that cost me the lead, then I adapted pretty quick and try to get in the draft, and came down to all four us coming out of the second last turn so it was pretty wild and a good fight to the finish.”
 
Lambert impressed winning all of his early heats, culminating in the semi-final where he needed a brilliant late pass and his strong drafting technique to move from third to first. In the men’s big final, Lambert crossed the line in third behind French brothers Jonas and Aidan Chollet.
 
“Today was awesome, yesterday in qualifying the early runners can get a slower course and I made a mistake, so to be able to get the second run down (in 23rd), and then come out and prove to everyone that I was better than my number predicted, it’s awesome, I love it,” said 28-year-old Lambert.
 
“We were discussing last night in race strategy there was going to be a lot of draft out of turn five, and plenty of opportunities to gain speed, but overall it was pretty much decided at the finish line.”
 
Other Australians in action included NSWIS teammates Mia Clift and Cam Bolton, who reached the quarter-finals to finish ninth and 14th respectively. Missing the finals were Amber Essex (24th), James Johnstone (47th), Declan Dent (48th), Cameron Turner (52nd), and Abbey Wilson, who recorded a DNF in run two of qualifying.
 
The weekend racing in Cervinia concluded with the mixed team event, featuring Australia 1 (Lambert and Baff) and Australia 2 (Bolton and Clift).
 
Lambert and Baff progressed to the small final, crossing the line first to secure a fifth-place overall finish. Meanwhile, Bolton and Clift finished in ninth place.

IMAGES Adam Lambert and Josie Baff celebrate in Cervinia
© Chris Hocking

NSWIS snowboard cross riders have claimed two silver medals at the World Cup in Montafon, Austria. Adam Lambert was second in the individual event and then joined with Josie Baff for another runner up placing in the mixed team event. The double podium performance gives great confidence for the Australian snowboard cross team heading into the World Championships this week in the iconic Swiss resort of St Moritz.
 
Lambert continued his great recent form to make it back-to-back individual World Cup medals, winning every heat from the round of 32 through to the semi-final to secure his place in the big-final.
 
In the big-final medal round, Lambert faced a difficult proposition against three French riders, Loan Bozzolo, Aidan Chollet and Merlin Surget. Lambert was mid-field for most of the final but worked his way into a strong position for the best run to the finish line, overtaking Chollet for second place and the fifth World Cup podium of his career. Bozzolo took the win, Chollett was third and Surgent fourth.
 
2023 World Championship silver medallist Josie Baff advanced through to her fourth big-final of the season, after crossing the line in second place in her quarter and semi-final heats. In the women’s big-final, Baff finished in fourth place, trailing French women Lea Casta in first, Julia Pereira de Sousa in second and Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain in third.
 
Other Australian results included Cameron Bolton 13th, Mia Clift 16th, Abbey Wilson 18th on debut, James Johnstone a personal best 24th, Jarryd Hughes 28th, Declan Dent 37th, Cameron Turner 46th on debut and Matthew Thomas 52nd.
 
Silver for Lambert and Baff in Mixed Team Event
 
In the mixed team event, NSWIS teammates Lambert and Baff combined for Australia’s second team’s medal of the season.
 
The pair moved through the quarter and semi-finals in second place to advance to the big-final against France 1, France 2, and Great Britain 1.
 
First to drop were the male riders and Lambert had a tough heat, almost crashing out in the middle section finishing fourth, 0.44 seconds behind leaders France 1.
 
Baff rode a super strong and fast leg in the final, making up the time differential from the men  early and then battling it out with the two French teams for the win. Baff fell just short of victory in a thrilling photo finish, missing the win by just three hundredths of a second to the France 2 team of Pereira de Sousa and Chollet. Rounding out the podium in third was the France 1 team of Casta and Bozzolo.
 
The two riders from Jindabyne in the NSW Snow Mountains were excited after  their first team medal together.
 
Lambert said, “anytime one of us is on the podium it means the world, it’s the reason we do this and seeing the hardwork paying off is amazing. Confidence breeds confidence, so coming into the World Championships with a few podiums has me believing I have what it takes to get on the box once again.”
 
Baff commented, “achieving another podium in the team event, this time with Lambo was so much fun, we’ve had a few races together already, the first being at the games and it’s very cool to see how far we have come. Going into world champs these two results give me confidence that no matter how the teams are constructed I believe the Aussie team/s will be up for the fight.”
 
Snowboard cross qualifying at the World Championships in St Moritz is on March 27 and the final the next day on March 28, then the mixed team event on the 29th. Representing Australia in the women’s event will be Josie Baff, Mia Clift, and Amber Essex and in the men’s event Adam Lambert, Cameron Bolton, Jarryd Hughes, and Declan Dent.

NSWIS riders have competed in a double snowboard cross World Cup weekend in Beidahu, China, with Josie Baff leading Australia on both days of competition with a fifth place  and silver medal performance and personal best seventh place finishes to teammates Mia Clift and Amber Essex.
 
Day One: Baff fifth and Clift seventh in small-final
 
In the first World Cup event in Beidahu, three Australian women finished in the top-10, Baff in fifth, Mia Clift a personal best seventh and Amber Essex tenth.
 
Clift and Baff were drawn in the same quarter-final, advancing to the next round in first and second place. In a closely contested semi-final, Baff and Clift just missed by a small margin at the finish line to advance to the big-final, finishing third and fourth.
 
In the small-final to decide places five to eight, Baff and Clift both exchanged leads, with Baff moving away in the bottom of the course to cross the line first, while Clift was just pipped at the finish line in third.
 
Adam Lambert and Cam Bolton made it through to the top-16 quarter-final round, finishing in 12th and 13th place respectively. Jarryd Hughes was 18th, James Johnstone 39th and Matt Thomas 53rd.
 
Day Two: Baff rides to silver
 
Josie Baff capped off her double snowboard cross World Cup weekend at Beidahu, China, by securing a silver medal, her second silver of the season and eleventh podium of her career.
 
After winning the small final on the previous day, Baff made a great start on day two wining her opening quarter-final heat.
 
In a thrilling semi-final, Baff was in a close three-way battle with Italian Michaela Moioli and Manon Petit Lenoir of France. Baff led for the first half of the race before Moioli made a pass, leaving Baff and Petit Lenoir to battle it out for second across the line to advance to the big-final medal round. Momentum looked to be going the French rider’s way, but Baff found late speed to cross the line in second by 0.03 seconds.
 
In the big-final, Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes led from start to finish to claim victory, with Baff in second, edging out Swiss rider Sina Siegenthaler by 0.07 seconds and Moioli in fourth.
 
“It’s definitely nice after yesterday, I had some fire in my belly, it was a good result, but I wanted more” said the 22-year-old Baff from Jindabyne.
 
“Two seconds in a row now, I really want to win, I hope I can get that soon, but I was really happy to share the podium with the girls.”
 
Riding to a personal best finish of seventh was 22-year-old Amber Essex in just her fifth World Cup start and NSWIS teammate Mia Clift was 10th.
 
In the men’s event, Adam Lambert was the best placed Australian in 10th, Jarryd Hughes was 13th, Cameron Bolton 25th and James Johnstone 52nd.
 
Canadian Eliot Grondin won both men’s events in Beidahu. 

After three World Cup events, Baff is ranked equal second on the women’s standings, Clift in ninth and Essex 11th. Bolton is the highest ranked Australian on the men’s standings in eighth.
 
The next World Cup will take place in the future 2026 Olympic region of Cortina d'Amprezzo, Italy, on February 15.

At the snowboard cross event in Cervinia, Italy, Australia took three medals for the first time in any single wintersport competition, with Adam Lambert just falling short in a photo finish for first place, and earning a silver medal in the men’s event. Minutes earlier, Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff were on the women’s podium together in second and third place.

In the women’s contest Brockhoff and Baff were drawn on the same side of the draw from the quarter-final stage, and managed to advance through each round to both make it to the big final.

With six riders in heats at the Italian event, the racing was close in the final, Brockhoff made a strong start, but Baff fell behind and then worked her way back to be in contention for the podium. Swiss rider Sina Siegenthaler made the passing move to the finish the line in first place just ahead of Brockhoff in second who was 0.07 second behind, Baff was next across the line in third.

In the men’s final Adam Labert raced to the third medal of his career, and was unlucky not to get the win after a photo finish showed he was behind by just two centimetres. Alessandro Haemmerle from Austria finished in front to claim the win , and Eliot Grondin of Canada was just behind Lambert in in third.

“The whole day has been crazy, and to top it off with a podium is so epic, it was so close to a gold,” said the 26-year-old Lambert from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

Also competing for Australia in Cervinia were Cameron Bolton who made it through to the small final for the second time this season in eighth, Declen Dent 30th, Jarryd Hughes 46th, Kobi Dent 48th and James Johnston 59th.

In the women's event Amber Essesx and Mia Clift were 15th and 16th, giving them personal best World Cup finishes.

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.