Ski and snowboard cross athletes set for Beijing test event
The first ski and snowboard cross events of the 2021/22 FIS World Cup season are taking place this week with a dual test event at Secret Garden in Zhangjiakou – venue of the upcoming freestyle and snowboard competitions of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
The ski and snowboard cross events of the FIS Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard World Cups get underway this week (25-28 November) at Secret Garden in the People’s Republic of China in a dual test event for the Winter Olympic Games 2022 Beijing.
The venue – in its first time hosting Ski and Snowboard Cross World Cup events – will also be the base for the Olympic freestyle skiing and snowboard events that run from 5 to 15 February.
"We are very happy to have managed to put a test event in Secret Garden in our calendars this season," ski cross race director Klaus Waldner told the FIS about the event in which boarders and skiers have the opportunity to test out the courses, which will be the Olympic stage this February.
"It is not only super important for the athletes, but indeed for everybody involved in the sports and event side of things,” Waldner added about the competition and the venue where construction began with an eye to Olympic hosting back in November 2016 and was completed at the end of last year.
Both Ski and Snowboard cross events consist of a race to the finish down a course that features big-air jumps and high-banked turns, and, with numerous athletes on the course at one time, the excitement levels and tactics are ramped up.
Canada’s Leman looking to rebound in men’s Ski Cross
The FIS Ski Cross World Cup opens the dual event of the new season on 27 November (qualifying took place on 25 November) with Brady Leman of Canada looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued stretch and defend the gold he won in PyeongChang in 2018.
Leman suffered a serious knee injury at the tour stop in Bakuriani, Georgia last year and missed much of the season. He’s hoping the rehab and fitness work will have him fresh as he takes aim at a hunt for more Olympic success, which begins with the test event at Secret Garden.
“This last year especially has been really terrible for me,” said Leman ahead of the first stop on the 14-race ski cross season starting in Zhangjiakou (Secret Garden) in late November and finishing up in Sweden’s Idre Fjall in January. “It just seemed like one thing after another with the injuries that I had in the summertime and then the one on skis.”
“I’m seeing it as a unique opportunity,” the 35-year-old added. “There’s a bit of pressure, but I’m looking at it as a bonus lap.”
Among the others to watch in the Secret Garden test event – and beyond en route to the Beijing Games – is another Canadian, 23-year-old Reece Howden, known as ‘Big Rig’ and the tour’s reigning rookie of the year. Swiss veteran Alex Fiva, who took home the 2020/21 ski cross world title, is fancying his chances.
Marc Bischofberger of Switzerland is also built for speed. The PyeongChang 2018 silver medallist hopes to take it one step further in this Olympic year, while Russian former Alpine skier Sergey Ridzik, who won bronze at the last Olympic Games, is also aiming high at the start of a new season.
On the women’s side of the ski cross hopefuls’ list heading toward Beijing, Canada’s Brittany Phelan will be among the favourites following the retirement of her countrywoman, and PyeongChang 2018 gold medal winner, Kelsey Serwa.
Coming back from injury like Leman, Phelan faces stiff challenges from Swiss Fanny Smith, 2018 bronze winner from PyeongChang, Sweden’s speedy Sandra Naeslund and Alizee Baron of France.
Haemmerle, USA women tipped in Snowboard Cross
On 28 November, it’s the snowboarders’ turn to take to the snow for their final round. It’s an opportunity for the boarders – like their skiing cohorts – to test the twists and turns on the course that will host the snowboard events of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in February.
Among those to watch in Secret Garden on the men’s side is Austria’s Alessandro Haemmerle, who claimed his third crystal globe in a row during last year’s competition, and Spain’s Lucas Eguibar.
Eliot Grondin of Canada will be confident of his chances in the 2021/22 season – as will France’s Merlin Surget, Glenn de Blois of the Netherlands and Swiss rider and 2018 Olympic veteran Kalle Koblet.
On the women’s side of the snowboard cross, Team USA’s Faye Gulini will be hoping for a strong start to the season. She will be joined by teammates Stacy Gaskill, Meghan Tierney, Anna Miller and Livia Molodyh in People's Republic of China.
“We’re in a good place — we won the Nation’s Cup last season, which speaks to our depth and we’ve had great training camps in Saas Fee and at Copper Mountain ahead of this season,” says Team USA Snowboard cross Coach Peter Foley. “Our riders are really progressing and are on their game. I’m excited about our chances going into the China Test event and the season.”
Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic and Italy’s Michela Moioli are also looking for big things in this all-important Olympic year.
These 2022 Beijing Games will introduce a mixed team snowboard cross event. Snowboard cross was originally added to the official Winter Olympic programme in Torino in 2006 and ski cross four years later at the Vancouver Games of 2010.
