Good vibes for Austria as Alpine Snowboard returns to Bad Gastein

Current overall men’s leader Benjamin Karl (AUT) is hoping this race goes better than the first parallel event in Davos, Switzerland where he failed to qualify for the knockout rounds.

“I have three podiums in the PGS and I think a 17th place in the slalom so I need to do some slalom trainings I guess,” he joked. “I hope it will be better in Bad Gastein. It will be fast so I think it will be good.”

The Olympic PGS champion and his teammates will enjoy homefield advantage as the Austrian team train at the resort during the off-season. He will have to fend off a deep field of competition to win his second race in a row after topping the podium in Scuol, Switzerland on Saturday. Fellow veteran Andreas Prommegger (AUT) has several podiums and one individual victory here and will be looking for a first win of the season.

Maurizio Bormolini (ITA), meanwhile, will be looking for a repeat of his victory in Bad Gastein last season. “Why not? Maybe I can do it back-to-back. I will do my best to try and do it,” Bormolini said. “I know really well the slope in Bad Gastein, I like it a lot so it is possible to go back-to-back. We will see.”

“If I tell you the secret then I have to kill you,” Bormolini said of his four World Cup podiums on this hill. “No, but really, I think the secret is I liked the slope the first year I raced there and then the atmosphere of the night event is a different show. I am really motivated when I go to Bad Gastein. Maybe the steepness part of the slope is the secret for me but there is no big secret, just having a big motivation to do my best there.”

Bormolini’s countrymen are also among the pre-race favourites. Daniele Bagozza (ITA) won the first parallel slalom event of the season in Davos, with Edwin Coratti (ITA) placed third.

Riegler (AUT) still chasing wins at 50