‘The best Christmas gift ever’: Bagozza wins first World Cup in four years
Dec 23, 2023·Alpine Snowboard
Daniele Bagozza won his first FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup in nearly four years with victory in Davos on Saturday.
With more than 2,000 fans in attendance watching on as Davos made its debut on the World Cup circuit, Bagozza beat Arnaud Gaudet (CAN) in a close first race of the day before upsetting third-ranked Sangho Lee (KOR) in the quarter-finals to set up a semi-final with compatriot Edwin Coratti.
After beating Coratti in another close race, Bagozza had it all to do in the big final against Arvid Auner (AUT). Initially behind, he flew through the second half of the course to pass Auner and win a first World Cup since Bad Gastein in January 2020.
"I have no words for that. I was struggling four years without a podium. Always in finals I was really unlucky. Today I won. I couldn't imagine that, it's the best Christmas gift ever.
"It's just incredible. It was four years of struggling, each race I was hoping and trying and giving all my best. I had some bad luck the first years and now finally this mental block is passed.
"I'm going to try begin the new year as I finished this one."
Asked about coming from behind in the big final, Bagozza said with a laugh: "Don't ask me about the race because I don't remember anything. I was full of adrenaline."
Earlier in the day, Auner had beaten Radoslav Yankov (BUL) in the quarter-finals after the Bulgarian had shocked Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) in the previous round.
Auner then beat Cody Winters in the semi-finals, with the American having won the qualifiers in his first alpine snowboard World Cup outing of the season after missing the first two events due to snowboard cross commitments, where he came fourth in Cervinia last week.
Winters had raced an aggressive line all day to win his races up to the semi-finals, but it cost him as he failed to register error-free runs in the semi-final as well as the small final, which he lost to Coratti.
Coratti's third-place finish was enough to put him first in the overall standings on 185 points, 12 points ahead of Austria's Benjamin Karl. Bormolini is in third despite his disappointing turnout in Davos.
PSL Davos Men's Results
1. Daniele Bagozza (ITA)
2. Arvid Auner (AUT)
3. Edwin Coratti (ITA)
4. Cody Winters (USA)
5. Sangho Lee (KOR)
Men’s overall standings after Race 3
1. Edwin Coratti (ITA) - 185 points
2. Benjamin Karl (AUT) - 173 points
3. Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) - 169 points
4. Daniele Bagozza (ITA) - 130 points
5. Zan Kosir (SLO) - 121 points
‘I don't need the Christmas break’
Ramona Theresia Hofmeister said she'd rather keep racing than have a Christmas break after extending her unbeaten start to the season with victory in Davos.
The German had won back-to-back giant slalom World Cups in Carezza and Cortina, and in the first stop on the parallel slalom tour she once again swept all before her for an 18th career World Cup win.
"I don't have words for this, I'm so happy right now," Hofmeister said. "There's the hattrick - it's unbelievable.”
With Davos playing host to a World Cup for the first time, there was great hope from the locals in attendance that Swiss pair Julie Zogg and Ladina Jenny could dethrone Hofmeister.
That looked to be a possibility when Zogg qualified quickest in the morning, but that form did not fully translate when the races got underway. After coming from behind in her first two outings to edge past Gloria Kotnik (SLO) and Elisa Caffont (ITA), Zogg could not do the same against Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) in the semi-finals.
Dalmasso would go on to lose the big final to Hofmeister, who had accounted for Jenny at the quarter-final stage, while Zogg was beaten by Austria’s Sabine Schoeffmann in the small final to miss out on a podium place entirely.
"I'm really happy, the slopes were perfect today,” Hofmeister continued. “A big thanks for the staff, the trainer, the organisation, the volunteers for the work in the night.
"I think I don't need the Christmas break, I'm ready for the next races. It’s still unbelievable, I can’t find the right words.”
The victory means Hofmeister is now on 300 points after three races, 95 points ahead of Dalmasso in second place.
Daniela Ulbing (AUT), who lost to Schoeffmann in Saturday's quarter-finals, lies in third on 154 points.
Next up the athletes head to Scuol for the fourth race of the World Cup calendar on 13 January 2024.
PSL Davos women's Results
1. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER)
2. Lucia Dalmasso (ITA)
3. Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT)
4. Julie Zogg (SUI)
5. Daniela Ulbing (AUT)
Women’s overall standings after Race 3
1. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) - 300 points
2. Lucia Dalmasso (ITA) - 205 points
3. Daniela Ulbing (AUT) - 154 points
4. Sabine Schoeffmann (AUT) - 144 points
5. Julie Zogg (SUI) - 136 points
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