After missing out on the knockout rounds in Saturday’s FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup races in Gudauri, Georgia, tour leader Charlotte Bankes (GBR) was back on top on Sunday with a historic 25th individual win.
Showcasing her trademark skill in overtaking, Bankes came from behind in the big final to add valuable points, ahead of Saturday’s winner Julia Pereira de Sousa (FRA) and Lea Casta (FRA).
In the big final it was – as so often this season – the French riders who led out, with Casta and Pereira de Sousa exchanging the lead in the first section of the course. Bankes generated speed with a couple of big sends and had moved into first place by the third intermediate marker, giving her enough advantage to hold on for her fifth win of the season, and her 25th individual victory. It is almost exactly 10 years since her first, in La Molina in 2015.
“It’s amazing. Yesterday was tough, but Jerome found the words to refocus me for today. We put a massive team effort out there today to be able to pull it off,” Bankes said, crediting her coach Jerome Choupin., adding, “I knew that Lea and Julia were starting really fast and I was probably going to be behind, and was just trying to keep the slipstream, generate speed the whole way, and believe in it. I’m really happy that I managed to pull it off in the end. It was tight racing but it really felt like that was a smooth run where I was in control,” Bankes said.
Pereira de Sousa took second, capping an excellent weekend for the 23-year-old. Casta was third, continuing her consistent performance this season with six podium finishes from six big final appearances.
Bankes continues to lead the World Cup standings, extending her advantage over Casta to 57 points after it closed up to 17 points following Saturday’s action. Casta has a large margin of 166 points to Baff in third, while Pereira de Sousa has moved into fourth with 320 points, ahead of Moioli with 303.
(Images credit: Miha Matavz, FIS)
