СНОУБОРДКРОС (SKI.BG) -- Супер новина за България прелетя океана - чаровната ни звезда в сноуборда Александра Жекова преди броени минути спечели първия си подиум за сезона в бордеркроса за Световната купа в Телърайд, САЩ!

SBX World Cup Telluride - Finals - Women's Podium f.l.t.r.: 2nd Maelle Ricker (CAN), 1st Dominique Maltais (CAN), 3rd Alexandra Jekova (BUL). Photo © FIS/Oliver Kraus

След като вчера без проблеми Сани преодоля квалификацията, днес в Колорадо тя стартира обещаващо с втора позиция в четвъртфиналната си серия, последвана от размазваща победа в полуфинала, където победилата я в четвъртфинала чехкиня Ева Самкова остана на четвъртото място.

SBX World Cup Telluride - Finals - Women's Quarter Final #4 - Eva Samkova (CZE) in red, Alexandra Jekova (BUL) in green, Luca Berg (GER) in yellow, Michela Moioli (ITA) in blue © FIS/Oliver Kraus

В големия финал Жекова стартира първа в нейния си експлозивен стил, но малка грешка в последната серия препятствия и отне скоростта и така в крайна сметка Жекова не можа да се пребори с двете канадски машини - Доминик Малте и Маел Рикер (съответно класирали се първа и втора), но за втори път днес (както и в полуфинала) изпревари швейцарката Симона Майлер, което донесе бронзовия медал за българската национална състезателка.

Специално за SKI.BG Александра сподели минути след финала: "Чувствам се чудесно в Телърайд... наистина е едно от любимите ми места на Тура, като атмосфера и като трасе... имаме много фенове и приятели тук, което е приятно и ни зарежда допълнително :) Направих страхотни тренировки, н допуснах 4 грешки в квалификацията, които ми отредиха 7-ма позиция:( Въпреки това се РАДВАМ да бъда отново на подиума до двете ми основни конкурентки... Не беше лесно да се кара прецизно и да се съхранява скорост, заради променливите метеорологични условия... Генерално, днес бях по-спокойна и карах по-прецизно, за разлика от състезанието в Австрия (което е моята малка лична победа). След като взех старта, във финалната серия допуснах лека грешка, която ми коства много скорост и ми отреди третото място... Не е лесно да не изоставаме от канадците..."

SBX World Cup Telluride - Finals - Men's Quarter Final #3 - Christopher Robanske (CAN) in green, Nate Holland (USA) in red, Kevin Hill (CAN) in blue, Omar Visintin (ITA) in yellow © FIS/Oliver Kraus

Ah yeah, well, talking about photo finishes... What do you think of that one of the men's SBX finals in Telluride? Photo: FIS

Същевременно при мъжете титлата беше решена със супер тесен фотофиниш в полза на Сет Уескот, но и "нашият" австралиец Алекс "Чъмпи" Пулин остана супер щастлив от среброто. Трети завърши канадецът Кристофър Робански.

SKI.BG
15 декември 2012 г., 00:30ч.

Maltais and Wescott clinch Snowboard Cross World Cup in Telluride

Dominique Maltais (CAN) and Seth Wescott (USA) have clinched the season's second snowboard cross race of the 2013 FIS Snowboard World Cup tour in Telluride, Colorado.
 
On the men's side, Wescott celebrated his career's third World Cup victory in a photo finish.
 
Unlike two years ago, when the 2006 and 2010 Olympic Champion had lost a similarly close race in Telluride to Pierre Vaultier (FRA), the SBX veteran had the luck on his side today crossing the finish line just a few inches ahead of reigning World Champion Alex Pullin (AUS).

Yeaahhh!! Best day of racing with the best in the world!! After some of the tightest most fun battles I've ever experienced in the sport and photo finish with Seth on the line in the final, I'm so happy with a 2nd here in Telluride! Thanks for all the support and more updates to come soon! All smiles!!!! Photo: Alex Chumpy Pullin
 
“I love courses like this one. This is why I have done well here and also in Arosa. When you can pull out of the start and only try to search for speed that's when I ride the best,” aid Wescott after his career's third World Cup win.

As close as it might get
 
“At the same time, courses like that usually end up allowing for really close finishes because everyone is working for that speed.”
 
And all four finalists did work as hard as they could passing each other all the way down from top of the course till the very end.
 
“I had a horrible final jump and that was what got me that other year, when Pierre got me. And I knuckled again here and I was just trying to get to that finish line like 'please don't have this happen again',” recapped the 36-years-old the heart beat final which also served a perfect outcome for runner-up Alex Pullin.
 
“It was an absolutely incredible day of racing. The course was perfect. To share it with legends like Seth Wescott who was the guy who brought me into the sport watching him win the World Championship title in Whistler a few years ago is just awesome.
 
There were passes the whole way down. It was the best feeling, best racing. I feel that I really earned that one. I'm just looking so much forward to the rest of the season.”
 
And just like the defending World Champion from Australia, also Wescott, who qualified 29th, is in a good mood for the upcoming tasks.
 
“The World Cup win is really good. It's been a hard last year for me coming back from that bad injury (torn breast muscle in Veysonnaz, Switzerland). It's been a long road to be back where I am now again.
 
I love the World Championships, I love the Olympics, I like the big days. Stoneham is kind of a home race for me, it's only three hours from home. I'm looking forward to it.”

Maltais keeps on dominating
 
While the men's final was really unsurpassable thrilling-wise, the women's final was a clear thing for Dominique Maltais.
 
The World Cup title defender came out first out of the first turn and kept the lead until the finish located right down in the Telluride Mountain Village at the end of Misty Maiden.
 
With her back-to-back win earned in an absolutely impressive way dominating the course built by Jeff Ihaksi (CAN) ahead of her fellow countrywoman Maelle Ricker (CAN) and Alexandra Jekova (BUL), the rider from Quebec is now the top favourite for Gold at the World Championships in her home country.
 
“I guess the people are expecting a lot from me at the World Championships. So, the pressure was there before the two recent World Cup wins already. That's good as it is also a very good preparation for Sochi,” told Maltais.
 
“I'm really happy. It was tough today because the conditions were changing a lot. I had to improvise in the finals but I guess I did pretty good.”

World Cup leaders still ahead
 
At least good enough to keep hold on the World Cup lead with a maximum of so far 2,000 points.
 
On the men's side, Omar Visintin (ITA), who finished eighth today, still has the leading position in the race for the men's Crystal Globe with 1,320 points. However the Montafon winner faces some tough competition with Pullin sitting in second only 20 points behind (1,300).
 
The Snowboard Cross World Cup tour continues tomorrow with the season's second Team SBX event in Telluride at 1 PM local time.

FISsnowboard.com
Saturday 15 December 2012

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