SNOWBOARDING:

Maltais 4th in Arosa, claims SBX overall crown

March 24, 2011 — Canada Snowboard

AROSA, Switzerland — Canadian snowboarder Dominique Maltais of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Quebec, finished fourth Thursday in the snowboardcross race in Arosa, Switzerland, the sixth stop on the 2011 LG Snowboard FIS World Cup tour, and in doing so captured the prestigious crystal globe given to the athlete with the most accumulated points in the discipline over the entire season.

In six starts this season to date, Maltais has won three races and finished second twice, cumulating a total of 4,800 points to lead the overall World Cup tour standings.

With only one race left on the calendar, she currently have an insurmountable lead of 1,600 points on her closest rivals, which are Bulgarian rider Alexandra Jekova (3,200 points) and American Lindsey Jacobellis (2,810 points).

"I am very happy. It’s a pretty important trophy to go and win. The globe is always my objective at the beginning of a season" said Maltais, 29. “ About 10 minutes after the race, my coach came and told me the globe was mine, and that’s when I realized it. I will be able to sleep tight tonight and focus on my race tomorrow.”

“I was not very nervous as I only needed a top 15 to secure the globe. Throughout my career, my results were always good, so I wasn’t too preoccupied. That being said, my qualifications yesterday did not go well, so I was a bit more nervous today for that reason. I had some good training with the guys on the team, and it gave me a boost of confidence before the race.”

“From heat to heat throughout the race, everything went really well and as the race was unfolding, I felt better and better.”

This is the second crystal globe for Maltais: she was also crowned World Cup champion in 2006, the Olympic year when she also won the bronze medal.

At the 2011 FIS World Championships in La Molina, Spain, Maltais finished third in a thrilling final. The bronze medalilst at the 2006 Olympic Games shows 21 podiums in 53 World Cup starts. For the past two seasons, Maltais stepped on the podium nine times in 13 races.

Last season in 2010, Maltais’ teammate and Olympic champion Maëlle Ricker of West Vancouver, B.C., won the globe.

For the first time in FIS World Cup history, the snowboardcross race was held with heats of six athletes, instead of the traditional four athletes seen at the Olympic Games and World Championships. The X Games competition uses a similar format with six competitors per heat.

Bulgaria Alexandra Jekova made history, winning her country’s first FIS World Cup race. Callan Chythlook-Sifsof of the United States of America was second, followed by Zoe Gillings of Great Britain in third.

Canadian Carle Brenneman of Comox, British Columbia, finished fifth, posting her career-best result. Brenneman qualified for the elimination rounds Wednesday, and moved her way up the ladder throughout the day all the way to the medal race, where she finished behind Maltais in fifth.

In men’s action, Rob Fagan of Cranbrook, B.C., posted the best result among the five Canadians in the race, finishing in sixth position.

Kevin Hill of Vernon, B.C., went on to finish 18th, while François Boivin of Jonquière, Que., placed 26th. Tom Velisek of Squamish, B.C., took the 28th position, followed by Jake Holden of Caledon, Ont., in 46th place.

Olympic champion and silver medallist at the 2011 World Championships, Seth Wescott of the United States, claimed the victory. Pierre Vaultier of France took the second place take. Fellow French rider Paul-Henri De le Rue finished third.