SNOWBOARDING:

Maltais reaps bronze in snowboardcross at world champs

Jan. 18, 2011

LA MOLINA, Spain — Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere Saint-Francois, Que., won bronze in the snowboardcross race Tuesday at the FIS Snowboard World Championships.

American Lindsey Jacobellis captured her third world title, finishing ahead of Nelly Moenne of France.

Olympic champion Maelle Ricker of Squamish, B.C., finished fourth after falling in the gold medal race. She lost control out of a turn to crash out while running second.

Maltais' medal is Canada’s second at the championships. Zach Stone of Collingwood, Ont., won the silver medal in the big-air contest.

Australian rider Alex Pullin held off a strong American field to win the men's snowboardcross final. Pullin held off Olympic champion Seth Wescott and Nate Holland to score the best result of his career.

For Wescott, it was a third world silver to go with his one title in 2005.

Maltais, the World Cup points leader, won all three races prior to the 2011 World Championships.

“With the qualifications from yesterday I really put myself in a bad situation when it came to picking the start gates. The first two runs went really well. I was following Lindsey [Jacobellis] and was comfortable to stay in second place and not risk a crash. The track was not easy, and quite slow, and in the finals I had the worst possible start gate,” explained Maltais.

“In the finals, I had a bad start and was always trying to catch them. It was a touch course with lots of flat landings. The big goals for me today were not to get injured as I am focusing on the World Cup season more than anything else. That being said, I am always racing to be on the podium, so I am happy.”

Maltais, bronze medallist at the 2006 Torino Olympic Winter Games, won her first career World Championships medal. Maltais missed the previous two World Championships due to injury.

“The focus for me remains on the crystal globe, and winning the overall title. The World Championships is a nice title to have, but the goal was not to get injured and remain on track to stay. The globe will reward the more consistent and best rider over the entire season.”

Canada’s Ricker finished fourth after sustaining a hand injury after falling in the gold-medal race.

“Maëlle suffered from a bruised left shoulder and left elbow, as well as fractured two metacarpal bones in her left hand. These fractures will require surgery to stabilize the bones properly, but she is otherwise fine and will be flying back to Vancouver to have the surgery done. The injury should heal up well, with no long-term effects. She is in good spirits,” said Dr. Connie LeBrun, chief medical officer of the Canadian snowboard team.

In the men’s contest, Francois Boivin of Jonquière, Que., posted the top Canadian result with a seventh position.

Boivin easily won his opening round to advance to the second round. In the quarterfinals, Boivin managed to fight back from fourth position after a weak start and came from behind to finish second, edging Paul-Henry De La Rue of France in a photo finish to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Boivin faced tough competition in Pierre Vaultier of France, Nate Holland (USA), and Luca Matteotti (Italy). Boivin had a slow start and tried to catch up, but the riders were already too far ahead to make a move to qualify for the finals. Boivin was relegated to the small final, where he finished third for the seventh position overall.

Pullin, a training partner of the Canadian team, won his career first world title in five appearances at World Championships in snowboardcross. Pullin crossed the finish line in the medal race ahead of American riders Wescott, in second, and Holland, in third.

World Championships rookie Kevin Hill of Vernon, B.C., advanced to the quarterfinal after winning his opening round. In the quarterfinals, Hill took the early lead with excellent starts but fell attempting to land a jump at high speed in his second race. Hill finished his day at the office ranked 14th.

Tom Velisek of Squamish, B.C., who turned 30 just as the World Championships began Saturday, fell in the upper portion of the opening round. Velisek, Canada’s top-ranked rider in sixth place in the FIS World Cup rankings, finished 31st.

The 2010 FIS Snowboard World Championships continues Wednesday with the parallel giant slalom event. S-Magazine

— The Canadian Press and Canada Snowboard contributed to this report

La Molina women's World Championships snowboardcross results

La Molina men's World Championships snowboardcross results