One final World Cup event for snowboarders in Cortina before they travel to China

Beijing-bound snowboarders competed at one last World Cup event in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy this past Saturday night, before their overseas journeys to China.

Australian snowboard cross veteran Cameron Bolton says he is looking forward to returning to the competition venue at Secret Garden Resort, in Zhangjiakou, where many of the top riders already previewed the steeps, twists, banked turns and jumps during a late November World Cup test event.

“It’s very strange, you go there, fly in, see the resort from the plane, not a whole lot of snow and it’s all man-made,” said Bolton, will be competing at his third Games. “But it’s so cold and so dry, so they can make as much as they want, and run a really good event on a great course.”

The Cortina World Cup was a late edition on the official calendar and was staged as a high-energy night event on a fresh, high-risk course, with snowboarders jostling side-by-side under the floodlights on the Socrepes slope.

The riders appeared to be in the moment, enjoying the upbeat Italian atmosphere, however, their thoughts were also on final logistics and travel to Beijing.

“These Olympics will be very strange in the middle of COVID-19 and this will be very different than my first two – I suppose I’ll embrace it with open arms,” Bolton said. “We won’t have friends and family there, but it’s a day where I can do my favorite thing in the world in front of the biggest audience we ever get.”

Bolton also said he is looking forward to having his favorite Chinese dish - sweet and sour chicken.

Stacy Gaskill, 21, was the top American finisher in Cortina, winning the small final to finish fifth. As a first time Olympian, she will join an experienced U.S. Olympic snowboard team, which includes five-time Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis and halfpipe legend Shaun White.

“It will be interesting without the spectators and it’s definitely a bummer not to have my parents, family and friends at my first Games,” said Gaskill, who is from Golden, Colorado. “But China has put it a lot of time and has created a lot of great opportunities for the athletes. I think it’s going to be fun event and I think it’s going to be safe as well which is also really important for us.”

Spain’s Lucas Eguibar, who won the men’s small final in Cortina to finish fifth like Gaskill, hopped on a flight to China with his teammates the very next day.

“It’s stressful, but I’m so excited to go tomorrow to China,” said Eguibar, who will be competing at his third Winter Games. “It’s so crazy – every day we are doing a lot of PCR tests, but I am so happy to go with my small team from Spain.”

Snowboard cross 2021 World Champion Charlotte Bankes finished third at the Italian Dolomites event. She is heading to Beijing for her third Olympics, but first her representing Great Britain. The veteran snowboarder is prepared for what she believes will be a very subdued atmosphere.

“We’ve been traveling and doing two years of racing with no public, so we’ve gotten used to it,” Bankes said. “Sure, the restrictions in China will be much bigger, but for me, it’s just about staying safe and being as careful as you can. You can’t do anything else.”

The Secret Garden Olympic course

Unlike the alpine and Nordic skiers, the snowboard cross riders had their taste of the Beijing 2022 course and venue at the season-opening World Cup, which served as an international test event, November 26-28. The course reviews have generally been positive.

“The course is fun, it will be fast, good racing, it will be close, hopefully a little bit faster than it was in November,” Bolton said. “I think it will be make for tight racing and clean racing.”

Eguibar has slightly different impressions and opinions about the Chinese course.

“PyeongChang was a big, fast course, but this course is so different, maybe slower,” Eguibar said. “I don’t like it as much, but I think they will be good races.”

Gaskill is eager to improve upon her performance from Cortina.

“The test event was really fun – the course is big and fast and it really plays to some of my strengths, so I am excited to go there,” Gaskill said. “Today, I had my first top five, so I’m excited to step onto that podium in Beijing.”

Olympic snowboard cross is scheduled for the women on February 9th, while men will hit the course on one day later on February 10.

And for the first time in Olympic history, a mixed gender snowboard cross team event will be contested on February 12.

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