Winter sports - Snowboard crossers miss out on podium places at the start of the season
The German snowboard crossers have started the new World Cup season without the podium places they had hoped for. Jana Fischer finished fourth in Les Deux Alpes, France, on Sunday, narrowly missing out on the podium. While the 24-year-old impressed by making it into the final, team-mate and co-favorite Martin Nörl was unable to get past tenth place. The 30-year-old, who recently won the overall World Cup twice in a row, was eliminated in the quarter-finals. "It wasn't completely bad, but I'm not mega-happy either," said Nörl.
The other German starters failed to make it through to the knockout round in qualifying. Fischer and Nörl had finished seventh in the team event on Saturday.
There were also no top places for the German freestyle snowboarders at the Big Air World Cup in Beijing at the weekend. The halfpipe athletes were also unlucky: André Höflich and Christoph Lechner were stranded at Munich airport due to the snow chaos in Bavaria and were unable to travel to the World Cup in Secret Garden, China. They will miss the competition.
Snowboard World Cup results
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Despite the setbacks in France, Fischer and Nörl aim to secure a podium place during the upcoming Winter sports events in Bavaria. Germany's hope for a World Cup victory in snowboard cross this season primarily rests on their shoulders.
Meanwhile, Chinese snowboarders dominated the podium at the World Cup in Secret Garden, with several athletes clinching top spots. Notably, Xuetong Cai secured a first-place finish in the women's snowboard cross event.
In a different World Cup circuit, the German skicross team achieved a promising start with Lucas Müller earning a podium place in Switzerland. Müller's third-place finish marks a positive beginning for the team as the season progresses.
Just as the German snowboarders had trouble in Beijing, French athletes faced their challenges too, with Marianne Bertrand narrowly missing out on a podium spot in the women's halfpipe event at the Laax Open in Switzerland.
Looking towards the future, the Snowboard World Cup continues with events in Austria and Italy, providing opportunities for global athletes to vie for podium places in various winter sports disciplines.
Source: www.stern.de
