Vedder & Jacobellis Third in First Snowboard Cross World Cup
Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athletes Jake Vedder and Lindsey Jacobellis secured third place in the big final of the snowboard cross (SBX) World Cup season opener mixed team event in Les Deux Alpes (L2A).
Weather posed the most significant challenge at the L2A resort, situated at the highest snowboard cross course on the World Cup circuit. Originally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1, individual competition qualifications were rescheduled due to tough weather conditions. Consequently, the snowboard cross weekend schedule underwent a slight change, with individual competition moved to Sunday, Dec. 3, and the newly added mixed team event taking its place on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Despite a challenging cold start and extremely difficult visibility towards the end, Vedder and Jacobellis navigated the steep and jumpy course, progressing through the quarterfinals and semifinals to secure a spot in the big finals. In the final race, Vedder faced a fast-paced challenge, finishing fourth with only half a second to catch up. Jacobellis, the most decorated female snowboard cross athlete of all time, tackled the course, making up time. Upon entering the cloud at the course's end, Jacobellis experienced a slight loss of speed and went over the heel edge. Despite the setback, she recovered and secured a third place finish for Team USA.
The first win of the season went to Great Britain’s Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Banks, with France’s Loan Bozzolo and Chloe Trespeuch securing second place.
Nick Baumgartner and Stacy Gaskill also participated in the mixed team event, finishing 11th overall.
Next up, men’s and women’s individual competition snowboard cross finals in Les Deux Alpes tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 3. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live.
RESULTS
Mixed Team Snowboard Cross
