Hofmeister: Back like she never left

The FIS Alpine Snowboard World Cup descended on Krynica, Poland for the first time and the drama was delivered.

On the women’s side, four riders came into the weekend with a shot at the parallel giant slalom crystal globe. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) was 31 points off the lead before Saturday and reminded everyone she is the one to beat.

Hofmeister knocked out fellow globe contender Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) in the opening knockout round by 0.05 seconds. It was smooth sailing from there as Hofmeister put down three more unblemished runs to top the podium.

Schoeffman was racing with a broken hand that required surgery earlier in the week. She now sits in fourth in the PGS standings, needing a miraculous win and poor finish from Hofmeister on Sunday to win the globe.

Hofmeister moves closer to defending her PGS title from last season. She claims her 20th World Cup victory and 40th career podium with the win in Krynica.

“It’s unbelievable. The race was so tight. It was not easy today; the conditions were tough. But thank you Poland for a great race. I am excited for tomorrow. I think it was my 20th World Cup victory today, so it feels really, really good,” Hofmeister said.

Hofmeister will be the favorite on Sunday. She can clinch the PGS crystal globe with a strong finish. She will just need to avoid a disastrous qualifying run that leaves her out of the finals.

Hofmeister took down Julie Zogg (SUI) in the big final on Saturday. Zogg makes her first podium of the season and 32nd of her career. The Swiss rider has had an up-and-down ride this season after winning the overall title last year.

Michelle Dekker (NED) came across the line first in the small final to round out the podium. It is her second podium of the season and sixth of her World Cup career.

Hofmeister will hope to end her PGS season in style with a weekend sweep on Sunday. It will not come easy.

Tsubaki Miki (JPN) will be looking for redemption and an outside shot at the globe. The Japanese rider has had an incredible season and came into the weekend with the PGS lead. She struggled in qualifying and missed out on the knockout rounds. She sits 56 points behind the German in the PGS standings before the final race.

Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) is in third, 78 points behind Hofmeister. Dalmasso was eliminated in the round of 16 on Saturday by her teammate Elisa Caffont (ITA).

Both riders will be back on Sunday to try and dethrone Hofmeister who has the comfortable lead.

Women’s Overall Alpine Snowboard Standings

1. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) – 704 points

2. Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) – 540 points

3. Tsubaki Miki (JPN) – 494 points

4. Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) – 491 points

5. Julie Zogg (SUI) – 431 points

Women’s PGS standings

1. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) – 379 points

2. Tsubaki Miki (JPN) – 323 points

3. Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) – 301 points

4. Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) – 288 points

5. Julie Zogg (SUI) – 255 points

A day for the old guys

On the men’s side, experience proved vital. The big final saw a battle of two of the oldest men on tour. 43-year-old Andreas Prommegger (AUT) edged 43-year-old Roland Fischnaller (ITA) for the victory by 0.06 seconds.

It is the first win of the season from Prommegger after three earlier podiums. It is the 23rd career World Cup victory for the evergreen.

“I’m so happy I cannot speak again. It was tough, powerful riding today. We are so tired and the legs are burning. It is my first victory of the season. I had a lot of podiums but no victory. It is amazing. It was a fantastic slope and fantastic hill. It was difficult conditions but huge thanks to the organization, they made it perfect," Prommegger said.

The win was even sweeter going up against his old friendly rival in Fischnaller.

“It was fun riding against (Fischnaller) in the final, the two oldest guys. This difficult race together in the big final, it was amazing,” Prommegger said.

The Austrian will be back on Sunday to attempt the Polish sweep, but he is only thinking about one thing right now.

“I hope I can sleep well and recover. I think it will be similar to today. But I just hope I can rest,” Prommegger said.

Fischnaller crossed a career milestone with his second-place finish. It was his 50th World Cup podium and second of the season.

Daniele Bagozza (ITA) took the final podium spot with a win against Fabian Obmann (AUT). It was his fourth podium of the season after three previous victories this year.  Bagozza sits in second place in the overall standings and has a shot at the big crystal globe end prize.

Obmann had a solid day as he knocked out his Austrian teammate Benjamin Karl (AUT) in the quarterfinals. Obmann pulled off the upset in a photo finish by 0.01 seconds.

Karl ended his podium streak after making the top three in every previous PGS race this season. Karl already clinched the PGS crystal globe this season but wants the overall title.

He holds a 103-point lead in the overall standings over Bagozza with three individual races left in the season. Prommegger is in the mix as well in third just 30 points behind Bagozza.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Edwin Coratti (ITA) crashed in the first round and suffered an early exit. Lee Sangho (KOR) put up the fastest qualifying time but lost in the first round. Hometown hopeful Oskar Kwiatkowski (POL) faced the tough task of taking on Karl in the first round and was eliminated early.

Men’s Overall Alpine Snowboard Standings

1. Benjamin Karl (AUT) – 599 points

2. Daniele Bagozza (ITA) – 496 points

3. Andreas Prommegger (AUT) – 466 points

4. Edwin Coratti (ITA) – 431 points

5. Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) – 408 points

Men’s PGS standings

1. Benjamin Karl (AUT) – 476 points

2. Andreas Prommegger (AUT) – 315 points

3. Roland Fischnaller (ITA) – 272 points

4. Danielle Bagozza (ITA) – 256 points

5. Edwin Coratti (ITA) – 246 points

UP NEXT

The riders will rise and shine to do it all again on Sunday February 25. The men and women will go through qualifying in the morning followed by the knockout rounds beginning at 13:00 CET on Sunday.

QUICK LINKS

2023/24 FIS Alpine Snowboard World Cup calendar
2023/24 Women’s overall standings
2023/24 Men’s overall standings
FIS Alpine Snowboard photos
FIS Snowboard YouTube