Moioli and Haemmerle finish season with wins and globes
Mar 13, 2020·Snowboard Cross
The last race of the 2019/20 FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup season is in the books with the season’s two best riders putting an exclamation point on their campaigns, as Michela Moioli (ITA) and Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) earned the victories on Friday in Veysonnaz (SUI) while also securing the respective women’s and men’s crystal globes as the top riders of 2019/20.
Moioli takes home her third Crystal Globe
The big final of the day on the women’s side consisted of World Cup leader Michela Moioli (ITA), Eva Samkova (CZE), Belle Brockhoff (AUS) and winner of the previous SBX World Cup in Sierra Nevada Chloe Trespeuch (FRA).
Out of the gate it was last year’s Veysonnaz winner and 2018/19 crystal globe winner Samkova jumping out to an early lead, with the rest of the field bunched tightly behind her. However, at the very first jump Samkova couldn’t hold on to her landing and crashed out, taking her out of the fight for a podium spot far too early in the final.
From there, Brockhoff took over the lead, with Trespeuch in second and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic champion Moioli in third. For the longest time it was a battle between the French rider and the Italian for spots two and three, with Brockhoff looking to be in command and likely on her way to her second victory of the season.
However, Moioli had other plans, making a move on the last banked corner of the course to rocket from third into the lead, carrying herself through the final roller section and across the line to victory on the day and to the third crystal globe of her career.
“Yeah, I just won my third globe, it’s amazing,” Moioli said after the race, “It was a really tough fight until the finish today. I mean, I knew I had the globe, but I really wanted to take the win today, so I fought hard against the girls and I knew that my biggest chance was the final bank, because I knew the inside line was good and so I went for it.
Brockhoff would finish in third place on the day and second overall on the women’s 2019/20 SBX rankings in what was a hugely impressive comeback season for the 27-year-old who missed the better part of two full seasons of action recovering from back-to-back knee injuries. Brockhoff made the big final in every competition of the season, earning one victory and five total podiums for 4,100 points and the season’s silver medal.
Second place in the race in Veysonnaz and third on the final standings went to France’s Chloe Trespeuch, to make it six straight seasons of finishing in the top five overall. Trespeuch had three podiums on the season, including the above-mentioned win in Sierra Nevada and two runner-up finishes for a final tally of 3,340 points.
Alessandro Haemmerle fights for his second career Globe until the last second
The men’s fight over the crystal globe was one of the tightest in FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup history, as World Cup leader Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) and second-ranked rider Lorenzo Sommariva (ITA) came into competition in Veysonnaz separated by only 10 points. With both riders making it through to the big final in Veysonnaz, the drama at the start gate before the final run of the season couldn’t have been any higher.
Out of the gate it was Sommariva’s Italian teammate and the season’s third-ranked rider Omar Visintin jumping out to the lead, followed by Sommariva with Haemmerle less than a board length off the pace.
However, Haemmerle was clearly dialed in despite his somewhat slower start, out-pumping Sommariva on the top roller section and dropping into Visintin’s draft through the first steep section of the course.
Coming into the course’s middle section Haemmerle made his move, pulling out of Visintin’s draft and nailing two tricky combo rollers to take a lead just before the massive middle jump of the course, and it was a lead that he would not relinquish, as he kept his speed through the big bottom banks and powered over the line while throwing a salute to the sidelines.
With the emphatic win, 26-year-old Haemmerle would finish the season with two victories, a runner-up, and no finishes below seventh place, earning 3,960 points and his second-straight SBX crystal globe. And, when you consider that Haemmerle had a shocking moment in semi-finals where he almost crashed out, the victory seemed like an especially sweet one for the Austrian rider.
“Well, I think a Globe fight can’t get any tighter than the one today,” Haemmerle smiled from the finish area, “Sommariva and I had to take it all the way to the very finish of the season. The final heat was super tight, but I fought my way through and managed to get in front and press it all the way to the finish. It feels amazing to win the globe again. It has been a good season, so I am happy to take the last win of the season and the globe, which was my goal for this year.”
Visintin would cross the line just back of Haemmerle in second place while Adam Dickson of Australia would pass Sommariva just at the line to earn the first World Cup podium of the his career and finish things off with another high-note for the Australian team.
Though he would have to settle for fourth place on the day and second overall with a final tally of 3,450 points on the strength of two victories and five top-10 finishes, 2019/20 was far and away the best season of Sommeriva’s career, as the 26-year-old’s previous best finish was 15th on the overall rankings.
Visintin would round out the season podium in third with a total of 2,930 points, with a win, a second place, and a third place podium to his credit. 2019/20 is the third year in a row where Visintin has finished third overall, and the Italian 33-year-old has always finished in the top-10 rankings in every season since 2012/13.
Congratulations to everybody on an amazing season, congratulations to the World Cup winners and FIS Snowboard wishes everyone a great summer, see you again next season!
Correction: This article originally stated that Lorenzo Sommariva (ITA) finished third in the men's race at Veysonnaz, which was incorrect. Adam Dickson of Australia was the third place finisher at the event.
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