SNOWBOARDING:
Lamoureux podiums, secures halfpipe crystal globe
LA MOLINA, Spain — It was quite a finish for Canadian halfpipe riders competing at the LG snowboard FIS World Cup Finals at La Molina, Spain. Mercedes Nicoll took the second position in the women’s halfpipe contest and Justin Lamoureux the third position in Saturday’s men’s contest under difficult riding conditions and soft snow.
With his third, Lamoureux takes homes the 2010 crystal globe in the halfpipe discipline, a trophy awarded to the best overall rider 
of the season. In doing so, Lamoureux made history by becoming the first Canadian man to win the crystal globe in halfpipe since snowboarding made its entry on the FIS World Cup in 1995.
“The globe is pretty cool. I had no intentions on trying to get it as my focus this year was the Olympics, but an invite to X-Games brought me to Europe where I decided to do the Italy World Cup. Did well there and was in the lead so decided to come to Spain to try and win the globe,” said Lamoureux, 33. “Really excited to have won it and was super-happy to share it with the rest of the team that was up there.”
These two podiums by Canadian riders bring the total podium count to 31 for Canada during the 2010 World Cup season. Canada is now sitting alone in first place in the World Cup nations ranking for the most number of World Cup podiums, leading by three over Austria, in second place with 28 podiums.
“The pipe was pretty tough to ride, as it was really warm out again. But everyone was riding as hard as possible, and good runs were going down for sure. Pretty happy with how the day went. Would have liked to have been a little higher on the podium but I got caught in some soft snow my second run and it just didn't happen,” added Lamoureux.
Lamoureux stepped onto the podium twice this season — a second place at Calgary and a third place at La Molina. However, Lamoureux finished within the top four in all four FIS World Cup contests he entered this season.
Canadian snowboard team alumnus Tara Teigen won the crystal globe in 1997 in women’s halfpipe, to become the first Canadian to ever win the coveted trophy.
This is Canada’s second crystal globe of the 2010 season. Maëlle Ricker took the top honour in the women’s snowboardcross discipline on Friday. Ricker is still in the hunt for the overall title.
Norwegian Frederik Austbo scored 40.9 points and took the victory in the last contest of the FIS World Cup season, while Christophe Schmidt of Germany was in second position.
In the women’s contest, Nicoll took the silver medal, her second consecutive podium on the FIS World Cup tour. Since her amazing performance at the Olympic Games, Nicoll has been on a roll with a fourth place at the Euro X-Games and back-to-back podiums on the FIS World Cup tour.
“I was super-happy with my result, I'm just glad I could put a run together, as the conditions were a little difficult. There was some rain last night that caused some problems with the pipe, it made it really soft and difficult to keep amplitude,” said Nicoll, 25.
“I seem to be climbing the ladder, fourth at Euro X-Games, third and second in FIS World Cup. I’m so happy with my riding as of the Olympics. I'm still learning new tricks and can't wait for summer riding to hone in better tricks for next season!”
Nicoll, Canada’s top-ranked halfpipe rider on the FIS World Cup, completed the season sitting in fourth place of the standings with a total of 2,530 points. Two Chinese riders took the positions while Australian rider Holly Crawford was third.
In Saturday’s competition, Sarah Conrad was the second Canadian who made it to the finals. Conrad finished her day grabbing the fifth position. Ricker came in ninth place, while Alexandra Duckworth took the 10th spot.
Holly Crawford of Australia took home the victory by scoring 38.4 points, while Polish rider Paulina Ligocka was third.
The Canadian halfpipe team ended the FIS World Cup season with a total of five podiums, contributing to Canada’s record-breaking season.
Ricker added 290 precious World Cup points to her credit, making it a little bit harder for her competitors to surpass her in the overall standings. Alpine snowboarder Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands is currently in second place in the overall standings behind Ricker and needs more than 490 points — a fourth place or better — to take the overall title. The alpine events will be held Sunday.
“Maëlle is such an all-round good rider, I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to ride well. I hope these points help her get the big globe. She’s my hero!” Nicoll said of Ricker’s performance in the pipe.
The 2010 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Finals in La Molina end Sunday with the alpine snowboarding events (PGS), the last events scheduled on the World Cup tour.
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