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.

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

After making history at the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, claiming Australia’s first ever gold medallist, snowboarder Josie Baff has today been named as Snow Australia’s 2020 Junior Athlete of the Year.

The 16-year old claimed gold in a dramatic Big Final, where she finished a narrow 0.05 seconds in front of French snowboarder Margaux Herpin. The win put Josie on the radar as one to watch for future Olympic Games and a star on the rise for Australia.

The Jindabyne local said that her experience at Lausanne 2020 is one she will never forget.

“The whole experience was just so enjoyable and so fun, I’m so glad I got to go with so many of my friends and the people I’d been competing with and against for so many years,” Baff said.

“The race itself was very surreal, I don’t think it’s ever going to properly sink in,” she said.

Josie has been part of the NSWIS and cherishes every opportunity she gets to learn from other Snowboard Cross athletes like Belle Brockhoff.

“I think it really sets the bar of where we can go and what we can achieve,” Baff said.

“Seeing Belle being so successful just gives you another special edge that just gives you that drive.

“It’s so good to have that and I’m so glad that I do. I just hope that one day I can be that person, like Belle, to younger snowboard athletes too,” she said.

Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said it seemed only fitting to kick off the online awards with a celebration of the next generation.

“We have moved the Snow Australia Awards to online for 2020, and what better way to kick off our two week celebration than with Junior Athlete of the Year.

“Josie achieved something outstanding in Lausanne, something that no Australian before her has been able to achieve. She has a bright future ahead of her and I’m excited to see what she does next,” Kennedy said.

Courtesy Snow Australia