SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP. Julia Dujmovits (AUT) and Benjamin Karl (AUT) have won the second parallel race of the 2012 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup season thus leading a strong performance of the Austrian team. 

In the season's first parallel giant slalom held today in Telluride, CO, the rider from the state of Burgenland successfully competed in the ladies' final against World Cup leading last year's winner on Misty Maiden Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli (SUI). Amelie Kober (GER) came in third relegating Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED) to fourth.

On the men's side, Karl secured his career's 13th World Cup win in a close duel with Andreas Prommegger (AUT) edging off his team mate from the top spot by only 12 hundredths of a second. In the small final, Simon Schoch (SUI) crossed the finish line 2 hundredths ahead of Anton Unterkofler (AUT) thus preventing a total podium sweep of the Austrian squad.

It's been exciting last four runs to follow on the men's side, in which all athletes pushed it to the limit. Especially Prommegger as he was able to almost successfully come back from a huge deficit of 1.19 seconds in the men's finals. In the end, it didn't work out but he definitely set his rival under pressure.

“It was a tough final. I really had to fight as I heard him coming,” said Benjamin Karl, who will now enter the next parallel event in Carezza, Italy, as World Cup leader.

While the 2010 Olympic Silver medalist was all smiles about his first win in Telluride, his defeated team mate needed some time to settle with the runner-up position.

“I was pretty annoyed in the first hand, when I crossed the finish line knowing that it didn't work out again against Benjamin. It was very close, but my time will come,” explained Prommegger, who also added with a blink of his eye: “I will get him sooner or later.”

Two perfect ties

While the men showed some race boarding at its best in the small and big finals, two women had proofed earlier that a head to head duel could even conclude closer.

In the semi finals, Julia Dujmovits and Amelie Kober came in with a perfect tie, in both of their runs. According to the rule book, the faster qualifier was about to advance to the big finals; and that was the Austrian talent as second best qualifier.

“That was for sure the toughest duel of the day,” said Dujmovits. “The finals thereafter were way easier too ride. Against Amelie, we both gave everything we had. And there was no way for me to go any faster.”

“I'm super proud that the altitude training paid off and that I finally clinched a World Cup win. My last one dates back four years. And I suffered from a lot of injuries in between (two torn ACL's, one broken ankle).”

According to this, the 24-years-old now will enter the following races with a lot of confidence. “I'm looking forward to the next events. I finally have the feeling to being back to business, stronger than ever before.”

FISsnowboard.com
Friday 16 December 2011

  Tweet