SNOWBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. What a second parallel event. While Austria’s dominator Benjamin Karl from now on claims the nickname Golden Boy, Hilde-Katrine Engeli raced to an unexpected Parallel Slalom World Championship title in La Molina, Spain, causing the biggest sensation of the 9th FIS Snowboard WCS.

The 22 years-old one-woman-show from Norway surprised everybody including herself grabbing Gold in the parallel slalom. Engeli, an experienced World Cup starter with 48 entries so far but only four top-10 results, had qualified as eleventh best rider seeming to be an easy victim in the knock out rounds.

But the female Viking was ready for domination, throwing in a never give up mentality: in her eighth finals, she knocked out 2010 Olympic runner-up Ekaterina Ilyukhina (RUS) by 13 hundredths. In the quarters, she edged off defending psl world champion Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli (SUI) with a tiny lead of 20 hundredths.

The semi against later on Bronze medalist Claudia Riegler was an easy task, just like the final against Olympic champion Nicolien Sauerbreij (NED).

According to this, Engeli said all smiles: “I wasn’t expecting anything, especially not to get on the podium. This triumph fills me with satisfaction because I didn’t do well in the last World Cup races.”

Another shining star of the La Molina slopes was Benjamin Karl who crowned himself the most successful rider securing his second Gold. However, it was a tougher fight than three days before when he dominated the field impressively.

“It was a hard race in which I had to give everything in every single heat. Especially my duels with my team mates (Manuel Veith in the quarters, Andreas Prommegger in the semis) were super close. In the finals, I had to risk everything in run two after having gained a gap in the first run. But it’s an incredible feeling to be a double world champion. I’m still left in disbelief.”

The men’s podium was rounded out by Swiss Simon Schoch as second and Rok Marguc (SLO) as third.

Enni Rukajarvi and Seppe Smits Slopestyle World Champions

The 9th FIS Snowboard World Championships held in Barcelona and La Molina, Spain, wrapped up on Saturday with the first medal decisions in history for slopestyle. Young rippers Enni Rukajarvi (FIN) and Seppe Smits (BEL) nailed the best runs thus taking the deserved Gold medals.

Finland’s Rukajarvi was accompanied on the podium by WCS runner-up Sarka Pancochova (CZE) and Bronze medalist Shelly Gotlieb (NZE), while Niklas Mattson (SWE) and Ville Paumola (FIN) rounded out the men’s podium as second and third respectively.

Enni nailed a disaster to 50-50 on a 2 kink box, fs 3 combo on the butter box, a handplant at the quarter, another 50-50 on a down rail plus a cab 5 to bs 3 indy to fs 3 melon line over the three kickers finally finishing things off with a 50-50 method out on the big pipe at the end.

Sarka secured Silver with a cab 1 to 50-50 on the 2 kink box, bs 3 combo on the butter box, a handplant at the quarter, 50-50 method out on the down rail as well as sw bs 1, bs 3 indy and a fs 5 melon over the kicker series adding a sw boardslide over the big pipe.

The last qualifier making it to the finals, New Zealander Shelly Gotlieb jumped on the podium due to 50-50 to noseslide, fs 3combo, handplant, 50-50, cab 5, bs 3, backflip and 50-50 fs 1 out.

On the men’s side, big air bronze medalist Seppe Smits played with the features in a very smooth way starting things off with a disaster cab 270 to fs slide on the 2 kink box, cab 1 on and front flip out on butter box, a nose tap to fakie at the quarter rail, a 50-50 fs 3 out on the down rail going easily in the kicker series.

Over the first kicker he stomped a fs 7 melon, adding an incredible bs 12 mute  and a cab 10 mute before rounding out his run to glory with a cab 1 to 50-50 bs 3 out on the big pipe.

Niklas’ run consisted of bs 1 to 50-50 cab out on a down rail, noseslide on pipe, fs 3 while jibbin’, bs rodeo at the quarter, fs slide on the rail, a fs 10 double cork mute to bs 9 melon to cab 9 mute plus a 50-50 fs1 out on the pipe.

Bronze went to Ville who not only impressed with his flow but also with bs lipslide on down rail, tailslide fs 270 out on a pipe, backside nose tap on the quarter rail, fs slide on the down rail, sw back side 9 mute to fs 10 indy to bs 7 mute over the kicker line and 50-50 fs 1 out on the pipe.

FISsnowboard.com
Monday 24 January 2011