Britain’s first SBX World Cup gold of the season arrived with a superb double podium for Charlotte Bankes in back-to-back Cervinia Snowboard Cross World Cups
Having suffered the disappointment of a sickness-related withdrawal at the season’s first World Cup in Les Deux Alpes, Bankes was back in the familiar position of podium finishes, taking third place in the first World Cup race and first in the second of the weekend.
Those results being Bankes’ astonishing recent World Cup record to eleven podiums in the last thirteen World Cup competitions, including seven victories, and further cements her reputation as one of the finest snowsport athletes currently competing on the world circuit. Huw Nightingale found himself just outside the top-30 in both Men’s races, taking 31st and 33rd spot, and marking another step up in his young career having taken 52nd place the last time he was in Cervinia in 2021.
In the third Moguls World Cup competition of the month, Makayla Gerken Schofield’s stunning early-season form brought Britain’s best-ever single Moguls World Cup result as her fourth-place finish sparked jubilation among the British contingent in Alpe d’Huez, before backing it up with yet another top-10 with sixth in the Dual Moguls. Her score of 73.49 in the Singles left her less than 1.5 points off the podium, while her Dual Moguls performance saw match her previous best Dual Moguls result, secured in February 2021 in Deer Valley.
The men’s competitions saw enormous results for Will Feneley and Tom Gerken Schofield, with both taking top-10s in the Dual Moguls. Feneley’s eighth place finish, coming off the back of a 32nd in the Single Moguls, marked the best result of his World Cup career to date, while Gerken Schofield’s 10th place gave him his first top-10 finish since his history-making second place in Krasnoyarsk in February 2020. Mateo Jeannesson, meanwhile, took 21st place in both the Single and Dual Moguls marking an excellent return for the 18-year-old taking the best World Cup results of his career to date.
In the Copper Mountain Big Air World Cup, Freeski sensation Kirsty Muir equalled the third-best World Cup result of her career and her best Big Air World Cup result to date with a superb fifth place. Having qualified in second place, Muir then recorded a sensational 94 for the 1440 on her second Final jump before finishing in an excellent fifth spot, less than eight points outside of the podium positions.
The men’s contest saw British interest from Chris McCormick and James Pouch, with McCormick finishing in 36th spot and James Pouch in 50th.
In Cross-Country, James Clugnet continued the squad’s excellent season in Davos with a superb sixth place in the Sprint Free competition, the highest solo finish of his career to date. Andrew Young took 33rd with Andrew Musgrave finishing in 37th, before Musgrave took tenth place for his fourth top-10 of the season in the 20km F.
In Alpine, Laurie Taylor’s fourth place in the Obereggen Europa Cup was the pick of the results, while Charlie Raposo grabbed ninth place in the Zinal Europa Cup GS before coming 55th in the Alta Badia World Cup GS.