Bormolini and Miki on top once again in Krynica

Feb 28, 2026·Snowboard Alpine

Tsuabaki Miki celebrates the win. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

The Olympic break is over and the Visa FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup returned to the sunny slopes of Krynica. The Polish mountain set the stage as the riders dealt with warm snow for a flurry of action-packed racing.

Miki extends her PGS lead

It may not have been the Olympic finish she wanted, but Tsubaki Miki (JPN) was quick to remind the snowboard Alpine world that she is the one to beat down the stretch.

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The Japanese star rode past the field for her third victory of the season. It was also her third victory at Krynica.

“I love this slope. I never got the victory in the first race in Krynica, (always the second race), so I am very happy, and it was good to fight with the Olympic gold medalist Maderova,”– Miki said.

Miki extended her lead in the PGS and overall standings with the win. She will try to make it a double on the weekend with another win in Krynica on Sunday. She is already focused on another great result.

“Today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow. So I won’t change my thinking and will try my best,”– Tsubaki said.

Miki looked blazing in the semifinals, cruising past Elisa Caffont (ITA). In the other semi, Zuzana Maderova continued her run of form with a big comeback win against Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER).

Maderova missed a gate at the end in the big final and settled for second. The Olympic champion now has four podiums on the season and is still seeking her first World Cup victory.

Hofmeister settled for third with the win in the small final against Caffont. It is her fifth podium of the season and her 63rd overall podium in her storied career.

“It was a really good day. I had so much fun. Krynica is a very good place for a race, especially, the course setting today was really good. Now I am on the podium again, which feels good after the disappointing result two weeks ago at the Olympics,” – Hofmeister said.

Zuzana Maderova made the big final after her Olympic gold two weeks ago. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

Caffont finished in fourth, the same result as the Olympics. The quarterfinals had two headline matchups as Miki took down Sabine Payer (AUT) by 0.08 seconds. It was a battle of Olympic medalists in another quarterfinal as Maderova rode past bronze medalist Lucia Dalmasso (ITA).

There were some tough first round draws that saw some big names go out early. Aleksandra Krol-Walas (POL) has podiumed three times this season but fell in the first round on Saturday. Julie Zogg (SUI) and Jasmin Coratti (ITA) suffered the same fate.

Ladina Caviezel had her season-best finish in eighth. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

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Bormolini back on top

On the men’s side, it was Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) who found redemption after a disappointing Olympic finish. The Italian pulled off two close wins to take the top spot on the podium.

“The big final and the semifinal were really close. I just tried to have fun. Today I woke up and I thought of winning and I wanted to dedicate the victory to my baby and girlfriend. I am so happy that I was able to do it for Alicia and Victoria,”– Bormolini said.

Bormolini and Miki lead the PGS standings. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

Bormolini beat Lee Sangho (KOR) in the big final. It was the third victory of the season for Bormolini and his fifth podium of the season.

“(Lee) was pushing a lot. I had to give everything in the final because I know how fast he can be. He likes to turn a lot and with these conditions, that is the best line. For me, the middle part when the rhythm changes, that was the key for me,”– Bormolini said.

Bormolini, Lee, and Gaudet on the men's podium. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

Bormolini now leads the overall and PGS standings after the win. Krynica has been kind to Bormolini as this was his fourth podium at the Polish resort.

“For me, Krynica is special. I have a lot of nice emotions with this place. To come back here is always nice,”– Bormolini said.

It was another big day for Lee, who won the previous race in Rogla. The Korean was solid all day on his way to his 16th career individual World Cup podium. It was a tough battle with Bormolini in the big final for Lee.

“I knew the red course was a bit faster after the last section. I know he is really fast and won the qualification. I was trying to round more and get super acceleration to catch and beat him, but my plan did not work well. I made a few mistakes,”– Lee said.

Rounding out the podium was Arnaud Gaudet (CAN). It was just his second career World Cup podium after a second-place finish in Bansko earlier this season.

“It was a good day for me. After the qualis, I was really confident in my abilities in this type of snow. It was bumpy and a bit soft. I am good at that,” “My first run against Bormolini, I lost it, but I was confident I could have beaten him so I came into the small final with that same attitude that I could win on the slower course,” – Gaudet said.

Gaudet and Excellence Snowboard team after his second podium of the season. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

Elsewhere, it was a rough day for the Olympic champion as Benjamin Karl (AUT) just snuck into the knockout rounds with a 16th-place in qualification. He faced a tough test against Bormolini (ITA) in round one and was eliminated.

Aside from Karl, the other 2026 Olympic standouts could not carry the momentum into this weekend either. Silver medalist Kim Sangkyum (KOR) and bronze medalist Tervel Zamfirov (BUL) both missed qualifying for the finals stages on the day.

Mastnak finished fourth, as he did at Milano Cortina 2026. Previous PGS leader Roland Fischnaller (ITA) was upset in the quarterfinals by Mastnak. Ryusuke Shinohara (JPN) secured his career best finish in seventh.

Ryusuke Shinohara had his career best finish in Krynica. Photo: @FIS/Miha Matavz

After issues with the start gate, Lee (KOR) and Aaron March (ITA) restarted their showdown. It was Lee who bested the overall leader March in the first round matchup.

Mirko Felicetti (ITA) could not make up ground in the standings after losing in the quarterfinals.

Andreas Prommegger (AUT) won a race in Krynica the past two seasons, but was knocked out in the first round this time around. His Austrian teammate Fabian Obmann (AUT) was in the top five in the overall standings coming into the day, but was also eliminated in the first knockout round.

Alexander Payer (AUT), Edwin Coratti (ITA), and Gabriel Messner (ITA) were some of the other surprising names to miss out on the knockout stages. Daniele Bagozza (ITA) went out in the first round.

The World Cup continues with another PGS race in Krynica on Sunday. The qualification rounds will begin at 8:30 local time followed by the knockout finals at 12:30.

Men’s PGS Standings