Bankes cashes in to propel GBR to SBX Mixed Team glory in season opener
Dec 03, 2023·Snowboard Cross
Charlotte Bankes again proved her class as Mixed Team world champions Great Britain came out on top in a sensational climax to the opening Snowboard Cross action of the new FIS World Cup season.
On a day of racing which had everything, the two-time Crystal Globe winner used all of her experience as worsening conditions on a technical course meant only the Brit and home rider Chloe Trespeuch (FRA) finished the women’s heat of the Big Final.
The result in Les Deux Alpes brings a welcome first World Cup victory in the team event for Bankes alongside partner Huw Nightingale (GBR).
“It was really fun out there, Huw and I did a really good race and I’m really happy with that,” Bankes said.
“It’s been a challenging few days stuck in the hotel, I don’t like that but they’ve put on a great race. They made a massive effort to get it on today and put in a lot of work last night and this morning for us to race."
With strong winds and heavy snowfalls wiping out all qualifying runs on Friday, the Team Event was brought forward to Saturday with the expectation of another clear day on Sunday to run the individual.
The reschedule meant all riders were similarly short of practice runs as they took to the mountain for the first time in competition on Saturday afternoon – and it soon became a case of who could cope best with the biting cold conditions.
Nightingale was among those to struggle - finishing fourth, third and fourth again in his races on Saturday - and he was grateful for the form of Bankes, who made up a two-second deficit to go from back-to-front in the final.
“I’m hyped on that,” Nightingale said. “All through the race it was very cold up at the start and then now just at the end the visibility went, so it became a lot tougher on that last run.
“That last heat definitely didn’t show the best of races for me, and then I couldn’t even watch Charlotte, but she still came through.”
The 100 World Cup points had initially looked destined for Australia after Adam Lambert (AUS) built on his earlier solid performances, holding off Jake Vedder (USA) and Loan Bozzolo (FRA) in the final to put teammate Josie Baff in pole position at the top of the deciding women’s run.
The 20-year-old Baff – who won the individual event on the same track last December - got off to a flyer of her own before falling under her own steam as rolling cloud made the early features difficult to pick up.
Sensing an opening with third place now guaranteed, Olympic champion Lindsey Jacobellis (USA) tried the inside route around Trespeuch, only to lose her balance and follow Baff out of the race. Riding the clear snow behind, Bankes had stayed out of trouble and completed a dramatic turnaround by taking Trespeuch over the final stages of a cloud-covered bottom section.
“It was pretty tight,” Bozzolo said. “At the finish line with the other guys we didn’t know who was going to win the race, I was just waiting for Chloe but then there was some crashes maybe because of the visibility.”
Although she fell on the course, Jacobellis was happy to have kept both feet on the podium alongside Vedder – 13 years her junior.
“It was a great way to start off this season,” she said. “The team event is a little bit of a different vibe and energy between us so our strategy at the top and how to break through those first race jitters of the season – it was great to have the young buck with me to reinforce what I already know.”
It was a day of mixed emotions for the host nation, with two of their three pairs eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of the mixed team competition. Lea Casta (FRA) could not finish after Merlin Surget (FRA) had given her the perfect platform, while Manon Petit Lenoir (FRA) crashed out of her heat after hitting a roller on landing.
The riders will now turn their attentions to the individual event planned for Sunday afternoon, and following several days confined to her hotel, Bankes appeared in no mood to rest on her podium-topping performance.
“It’s been a good day and it proves that we’re in the mix,” she said. “That’s what we need to keep up, we’ll give it our best tomorrow now.”
Qualifying for the individual men's and women's events at Les Deux Alpes are slated for a 10:30 CET start with the finals due to begin at 12:45 CET. Do not miss a thing.
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Photos: Snowboard Cross Les Deux Alpes
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