Baumgartner Rebounds For La Molina Podium
LA MOLINA, Spain (Mar. 5, 2017) - Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) scored a World Cup podium finish in difficult, foggy conditions at La Molina on Sunday, finishing third against a stacked, international field.
It was an exciting race from start to finish, with Baumgartner crashing over the first left-hand berm of the course with Italian Omar Visintin and Austrian Lukas Pachner. All three were able to finish the race; Pachner took second ahead of Baumgartner while Pierre Vaultier of France raced free of the crash to take the win.
Nick Baumgartner (yellow bib) rides in men’s quarterfinal action Sunday in La Molina, Spain. (FIS)
“I knew that it would be a battle going on,” Baumgartner said. “Especially as I'm not known for my starts, I knew I would have to pull something out. So I went to the inside to make something happen, and that turn just deteriorated. There was a big hole on the inside and unfortunately I went down.”
Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) was the top American finisher for the ladies, winning the small final to take fifth overall. Michela Moioli of Italy took the win, Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic was second and Chloe Trespeuch of France was third.
Lindsey Jacobellis (blue bib) won the small final to take fifth overall in Sunday’s World Cup in La Molina, Spain. (FIS)
For the U.S. women, Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT) was ninth, Colleen Healey (Boreal, CA) 27th and Rosie Mancari (Anchorage, AK) did not finish. Wrapping up the U.S. men, Hagen Kearney (Telluride, CO) was 10th, Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) 13th, Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, CO) 19th, Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) 23rd and Cole Johnson (Squaw Valley, CA) 28th.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Italy’s Michela Moioli and France’s Pierre Vaultier won the penultimate snowboardcross World Cup in La Molina, Spain, which was also the last World Cup prior to the World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, March 7 to 19
- Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic and Italy’s Omar Visintin took over the World Cup lead with one race remaining.
- Nick Baumgartner was third for the men.
- After the break for the 12th FIS Snowboard World Championships, riders will descend on Switzerland where one individual and one team snowboardcross are slated to take place at the SBX World Cup Finals, March 24-26.
QUOTES
Nick Baumgartner
I knew that it would be a battle going on. Especially as I'm not known for my starts, I knew I would have to pull something out. So I went to the inside to make something happen, and that turn just deteriorated. There was a big hole on the inside, and unfortunately I went down. And then I saw the guys go down next to me, and they got tangled up but got up fast again. So I was just doing everything I could to get on that podium.
Lindsey Jacobellis
Lindsey Jacobellis from Stratton Mountain, Vermont, is known as the most decorated athlete in the history of snowboard cross. She competed in her first X Games at the young age of 15, and sense has made many incredible accomplishments. She has won two golds and a silver medal in the 2022 Olympics and has been involved in five separate Olympics since 2006.