For the first time this season, Éliot Grondin was unable to get on a snowboard cross World Cup podium. On Saturday, the Quebecer finished eighth in Montafon, Austria, after suffering a fall at the finish line in the semi-final.
Injured ankle, Eliot will not be in the starting gate for Sunday’s race. He will be re-evaluated upon his return to Quebec to determine the exact nature of his injury.
The Quebecer’s lead (752 points) over his main competitor, the Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle (448), still gives him a first career crystal globe. Cameron Bolton comes in third place overall with 336 points. Grondin had collected five gold medals, two silvers and one bronze in his last eight races.
Friday, true to form since the start of the year, Grondin was the fastest in qualifying. The athlete from Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce continued his momentum at the start of the day on Saturday by finishing in first place in each of his first two races.
In a tough semi-final, Grondin had to settle for third place after a fierce battle with the Austrians Alessandro Haemmerle and Julian Lueftner. However, it was the fall of the Quebecer when crossing the finish line that attracted the most attention.
Grondin was still able to participate in the B final where he placed fourth. He finished the event in eighth place. The grand final was the affair of Alessandro Haemmerle who beat the Frenchman Léo Le Blé-Jacques as well as his compatriot Julian Lueftner, who finished second and third respectively.
For his part, Tristan Bell took part in the elimination races for the first time this season. He finished fourth in his round of 16 heat to take 30e rank in the final ranking, his best result of the World Cup season.