Switzerland’s Janine Maechler, Belgium’s Sam Maes Top Winter Games NZ Podiums On Final Day Of ANC Slalom, 4 Kiwi's Through To Snowboard Slopestyle Final
Day two of FIS Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC) Slalom racing saw blue skies and warm temperatures at Queenstown’s Coronet Peak ski field with a 120-strong international field of athletes set to charge on the ProAm slope.
Switzerland’s Janine Maechler brought home the win in the women’s field to match her brother Reto’s gold medal yesterday. In the men’s field, experienced World Cup racer Sam Maes (BEL) found another gear to step up from bronze yesterday and claim gold today.
First out of the gates were the top three placegetters from yesterday’s women’s ANC Slalom - NZ’s Piera Hudson, Austria’s Franziska Gritsch and GB’s Reece Bell - back in the hunt for the medals but being chased by an equally determined field and by the end of the day the podium would see a whole new set of faces.
Bell, who skied one of the fastest runs of the day yesterday, started her day in top gear, holding the lead after run one, 0.11s ahead of Maechler. Kiwi Piera Hudson, wearing the yellow bib after her win yesterday also had a solid start to her day, sitting in third place, hot on Maechler’s heels and 0.12s off the lead.
Following a course reset for the second run, the women were back in the gates with the start order flipped and the top seeds last to run.
Frustrated about dropping out of podium contention yesterday after initially holding the lead, Maechler used this as motivation and skied a blinder of a second run to claim the win by 0.36s.
“I was a little bit angry about yesterday because I skied well in the first run and then the second run was not that good, I was angry and that helped me today,” she explained. “I went a little bit stronger and pushed harder on the second run today.”
Maechler added that her brother’s success yesterday had also spurred her on. “We are really close and I was so happy for him and I think it pushed me today; I wanted to do that too.”
Italy’s Lucrezia Lorenzi also had an outstanding day, skiing from a bib 21 start into fifth place after run one and then jumping into second place with her two run times combined.
Amelie Klopfenstein (SUI) rounded out the podium in third place with Reece Bell in fourth and Piera Hudson fifth. Hudson and Maechler are now the joint holders of the ANC yellow bib.
In the men’s field, Reto Maechler (SUI) had his sights set on finishing his day back on the podium, skiing into second place on run one, 0.05s behind Norway’s Theodor Braekken, but it wasn’t to be and he would eventually finish his day just off the podium in fourth place.
The day went the other way for experienced World Cup racer Sam Maes who turned his speed up a notch or two for his second run, moving up from fifth place to claim the win.
“I finally found my extra gear that I was also looking for yesterday. First run I think I still held back a little too much but the second run was good. A step up is always good, I’m happy with that,” he said. Maes continued, “I think we’ve had some great slalom races for what the conditions are. The weather hasn’t been our best friend the last two weeks but Coronet Peak has done a good job hosting these races, it was great to ski. It’s a good preparation for the World Cup season and it’s building every run.”
Italy’s Simon Maurberger also had a good second run which saw him move from fourth place after run one to second place after run two, 0.27s behind Maes. Braekken finished third.
Mons Roisland (Norway), Cameron Spalding (Canada) and Kokomo Murase (Japan) have qualified in the top positions through to tomorrows finals at the FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup presented by La Roche Posay & Cardrona Alpine Resort.
Wānaka’s local athletes held their own in the hugely competitive field, to the delight of the home crowd who lined the top of the course to get a glimpse of the Kiwi team in action.
In the men’s competition Campbell Melville Ives, Dane Menzies and Rocco Jamieson all qualified through to finals. In the women's competition Zoi Sadowski-Synnott qualified through to the women’s finals and Ava Beer (Te Anau, 15), despite not making finals, represented proudly in her first World Cup competition.
After yesterday's weather resulted in a postponement, Winter Games NZ and the athletes were thrilled to get a successful day of competition completed today. Despite a windy start to the day, as forecasted, the wind backed off and we were greeted with a sunny and calmer afternoon.
The qualification round featured 88 of the best snowboard slopestyle athletes in the world, representing over 25 nations, with Beijing 2022 Olympic Champions, current World Champions and 2024 X Games winners all dropping in.
The Big Bucks course was perfectly manicured, thanks to the hard work of the Cardrona Parks Crew. The course featured three rail sections, with each section offering a variety of line options to allow the athletes to really make their mark and show their creativity. The athletes then made their way through the triple jump line, with the three jumps getting progressively bigger and a shark fin take off on the second jump making for some exciting spectating.
Today’s competition marked the start of the first event of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe World Cup season and the first qualification event for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. It was also the first FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup to be held on New Zealand snow since 2017.
