Every individual event in the Snowboard Cross World Cup ended with Éliot Grondin on the podium this season. That of Cortina d’Ampezzo was no exception, seeing the snowboarder from Sainte-Marie win his fifth gold medal on Saturday, on a track which struggled to hold on until the end.
Victorious in his four races contested in the evening, Grondin won an eighth medal in a row this season. The simple fact that this stop actually took place in Italy impressed the Quebecer given the rain, the lack of snow and the warm temperatures.
“Upon arrival, it was destroyed. The scariest part of the journey was arriving at the bottom, indicated Éliot Grondin by videoconference. The further it went, the harder it got. After the straight, until the finish, it was soup. There was nothing standing. »
It was difficult for the athletes to push through the turns and remain in complete control. Several falls also occurred during the competition.
“The start must have melted six inches since yesterday. Everything got smaller and it became a little crooked, the modules were less square and we couldn’t afford any mistakes,” explained Grondin, who gave himself a lead of almost half a second during the grand finale.
The American Jake Vedder then used the slipstream to attempt an inside pass. Exactly what the future winner expected.
“I knew what the American was going to do,” he confided. I had seen his last run on the screen and I knew he was going inside on that turn. I wanted to widen the gap at the start and I knew they were going to come back. I just had to make sure I blocked their speed and had the outside coming out of the corner to accelerate at the finish. »
Grondin heard his opponents approaching during the race and he made sure to stay solid on his board. He and Vedder crossed the finish line almost at the same time. The finish photo confirmed the Quebecer’s victory, his first in four World Cups presented in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Australian Jarryd Hughes took the third step of the podium.
“He pushed his board a little too early, I just had better timing than him. I followed the plan well. It was a difficult day so to end with a victory, it feels good,” shared Grondin.
“It took me a while to wake up!” We’re all in the same boat, but I’m not used to starting running in the evening. […] I was struggling a bit, but I managed to come back to myself in the semi-final and I knew what to do once I reached the final. »
For his part, Tristan Bell was stopped in qualifying the day before and took 37e rank, his best result of the season in the World Cup.
The famous globe
In addition to his first five places, Éliot Grondin has a bronze medal and two silver medals this year, which places him comfortably at the top of the general ranking. It is the least we can say.
His closest pursuer, the Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle, is behind by 378 points. With four World Cups to go, the crystal globe is practically assured for Grondin, who does not intend to put on the brakes just yet.
“All the stories around the world and the discussions around that, I’ve tuned out,” said Éliot Grondin. I don’t think about it anymore. The chances of me going are very good, but at the end of the day, I can’t sit on the success I had at the start of the season. »
If everything goes as planned, two stages will take place in Austria next weekend, then two others at Mont-Sainte-Anne, from March 22 to 24.
“My goal is to finish super strong and do better than what I’ve done so far. Send a message to the rest of the circuit and finish strong. When it’s vacation time, I want to make sure I haven’t slacked off and done all the errands 100% until the end. »