Snowboard Cross Olympic champions eye return to form in Montafon

The FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup makes its last stop in Europe on 15 March, with racing in Montafon, Austria, setting the scene for the season finale in Canada in a fortnight.

Montafon is the penultimate World Cup race, with Mont-Sainte-Anne (CAN) now set to host only a single race. That means a maximum of 200 points are up for grabs for both men and women in the last dash to the Crystal Globe.

Montafon will also host next year’s FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships.

After disappointing performances in last weekend’s races in Erzurum, Türkiye, individual Olympic champions Alessandro Haemmerle (AUT) and Josie Baff (AUS) are hoping for a return to form, while Adam Lambert (AUS) and Lea Casta (FRA) have narrow World Cup leads to defend.

Qualification takes place on Saturday 14 March, followed by finals on Sunday 15 March.

Haemmerle setting sights high

The Montafon World Cup is a chance for Austrian fans to cheer on their Olympic champion Alessandro Haemmerle and bronze medallist Jakob Dusek (AUT) on home snow, and Haemmerle is relishing the prospect.

The 32-year-old defended his Olympic title in Livigno in February in style, beating Eliot Grondin (CAN) and Dusek in a thrilling big final.

“It’s hard to put the feeling into words,” Haemmerle says of his second Olympic gold medal.

However, Haemmerle was not able to follow up his Olympic triumph with World Cup success. In Erzurum, he won the qualification but was knocked out in the semifinals on both days of racing, after performing well in earlier rounds.

“I felt good on the track, but the track was lacking options in turns to make some moves,” Haemmerle says. “The start gate had issues costing me a bad start on day one.”

“On day two the conditions were really rough. The wind and conditions were just bad, not allowing a much better race that day,” he adds, saying despite the results he was happy with how he rode in Erzurum.

Haemmerle is now looking forward to his home World Cup. Last season he was fifth in Montafon, but in 2023/24 he won both World Cup races held there – and has traditionally performed superbly in Austrian racing.

“Goals for the race at home are always high. I feel good, finally some warmer temperatures, happy with my riding, so I don’t think we need to hide for the next races,” Haemmerle says.

“There will be a lot of my family and friends cheering us on in Montafon. That’s what makes that race so special and motivates me.”

In the World Cup standings Haemmerle is currently fifth with 205 points, and still in contention in a close race for the Crystal Globe. Lambert leads with 297 points, the slenderest of leads over Aidan Chollet (FRA) with 294. Leon Ulbricht (GER) and Jonas Chollet (FRA) are third and fourth.

Montafon will also be the last World Cup race for Italian Tommaso Leoni, who is retiring at the age of 34. With Montafon, Leoni will have made 78 individual World Cup starts.

Baff back in the battle

Like Haemmerle, Josie Baff had a hard landing after triumphing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

After celebrating her win with family and friends, she flew to Canada – and promptly caught bronchitis.

“That humbled me pretty quickly,” Baff says. “But I was still able to reconnect with some friends and be in my second home as mine is too far away.”

In Erzurum, Baff was ninth in qualification and just missed the semifinals on day one; on the second day of racing, she reached the last eight and ended up winning the small final.

“I came into Turkey with a lot of ambition and wanted to perform and take the yellow bib. Despite having every intention it’s very hard to fabricate the emotions and energy to fuel those kind of performances,” she says.

The women’s overall standings are even closer than the men’s, with just 65 points separating leader Lea Casta (324 points) from fifth-placed Baff (259 points). Charlotte Bankes (GBR) is second, Julia Nirani-Pereira (FRA) third and Chloe Trespeuch (FRA) fourth.

In five previous World Cup races in Montafon, Baff has three podium finishes, one fourth place and one ninth place, from her first race there back in December 2021. So she is confident that she can challenge the women ahead of her in the rankings.

“I’m really excited to get back to Montafon, it’s a track I really enjoy and I hope to climb back up the overall standings. They are quite close at the moment and I have every intention to be in that battle with the other girls come Mont-Sainte-Anne,” Baff concludes.

Racing in Montafon begins at 10:30 CET on Saturday 14 March with qualifying races. The finals start at 11:00 CET on Sunday 15 March.

QUICK LINKS

• Race Calendar

• Start Lists / Results - Montafon, AUT

• Montafon Stats Preview

• 2025-26 Men's Cup Standings

• 2025-26 Women's Cup Standings