SNOWBOARD-CROSS: Racing was postponed on Monday for the men's Snowboard Cross competition due to heavy fog impacting visibility on the course. Racing has been rescheduled until Tuesday morning at 1030am (530pm AEDT). It will be a reduced format with no seeding runs.
SNOWBOARD-CROSS: Racing was postponed on Monday for the men's Snowboard Cross competition due to heavy fog impacting visibility on the course. Racing has been rescheduled until Tuesday morning at 1030am (530pm AEDT). It will be a reduced format with no seeding runs.
The draw for the 1/8 Finals is based on FIS points. Alex Pullin will race in heat 1, Jarryd Hughes in heat 6 and Cam Bolton in the final race, heat 8. Each of their heats has five riders and the top three advance to the quarter-finals.
Here is a look at who the Aussies will race down the lightning fast course at Extreme Park.
Pullin, ranked number 1 for this his second Games, has a tough draw first up. American Nick Baumgartner, was third behind Pullin at the 2013 World Championships and 20th at Vancouver 2010. Canadian Kevin Hill has won a World Cup bronze this season and recently finished fourth at the X-Games. Russian Andrey Boldykov is an experienced racer. He was fifth at the 2013 Worlds and 15th at Vancouver 2010 but without great success this season. Rounding out heat 1 is Frenchman Tony Ramoin who won the bronze medal four years ago but he missed nine months in 2013 with a knee injury.
Australian young star Jarryd Hughes is ranked second in his heat and he has the form on the board. Hughes at just 18 has already won a World Cup (Lake Placid) this season and the World Junior silver medallist is ready to show his ability on the world stage. Hughes will face Pierre Vaultier (FRA), Jussi Taka (FIN), Austrian Hanno Douschan and Emil Novak (CZE).
Vaultier a three-time Olympian has not had a good season but has form at big events. He was ninth in Vancouver and fourth at the 2013 World Championships. Taka finished one place behind Hughes at the 2012 World Juniors. His best this season is a fourth. Douschan was eighth behind Hughes at Lake Placid this season. Novak also makes his Olympic debut and has struggled to progress in head-to-head racing this season.
Cam Bolton is in the final heat has drawn Austrian star Markus Schairer who finished second to Pullin at the 2013 World titles and he was World Champion in 2009. He won a World Cup early in the season before a serious shoulder injury that required surgery. Luca Matteotti (ITA) has one podium for the season and fifth from Vancouver. Tim Watter (SUI) has the least credentials for this heat.
Pullin is on the top half of the draw with Hughes and Bolton on the bottom. On Pullin’s side of the draw is Trever Jacob (USA) and Stian Sivertzen (NOR) who are ranked 3rd and 4th on this season’s World Cup rankings. Top ranked athlete for the season is Italian Omar Visintin. Hughes should meet him in the quarter-finals and then hopefully Bolton will race Hughes and Visintin in semi-final 2.
