Whistler’s Maëlle Ricker enhanced her reputation as one of the top all-around snowboarders in the world last weekend, earning two silver medals in snowboardcross at the World Cup opener at Valle Nevado, Chile.
With only a handful of events remaining to qualify for the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, Ricker was facing a tough field that included most of the top names in the sport. Snowboardcross may be a new Olympic discipline, but with more than 15 years as a pro and later World Cup event, the competition is as tough as it gets.
The Chilean World Cup week kicked off on Sept. 14 with the first of two World Cup halfpipe events in very icy conditions. Eighteen-year-old Hannah Teter of the U.S. claimed gold in the first event, followed by Doriane Vidal of France and Holly Crawford of Australia.
Whistler’s Mercedes Nicoll was the top Canadian in fifth place, while Dominique Vallée finished 10 th . Ricker, who is also hoping to qualify for the Olympics in the halfpipe, finished 15 th to further her goal. Sarah Conrad of Nova Scotia was 18 th .
The first men’s halfpipe went to World Cup vet Xaver Hoffman of Germany, followed by Daniel Franck of Norway and Antti Autti of Finland.
The top Canadian was Ontario’s Brad Martin in seventh place, followed by Whistler’s Dan Raymond in 15 th . Crispin Lipscomb and Mike Michalchuk, both Whistler riders, were 28 th and 35 th respectively. Justin Lamoureux, who won silver at the FIS Snowboard World Championships but ended his season with a broken ankle, finished 51 st .
In the second halfpipe, Teter and Vidal once again finished first and second, but it was Whistler’s own Mercedes Nicoll who would take the bronze medal.
A former member of the Whistler Valley Snowboard Club who grew up in Whistler, Nicoll has established herself as the most aggressive and consistent rider on the national team. She won the national championships in 2004 and 2005, and was on the World Cup podium three times in the 2004-05 season.
Vallée was 12 th , Sarah Conrad 14 th , and Ricker 19 th .
In the second men’s halfpipe it was a mostly Finnish affair with Autti and Mikka Hast finishing first and third, while Mathieu Crepel of France took the silver.
Brad Martin was the top Canadian once again, this time moving up to fifth while Dan Raymond moved up to 10 th place – improving his Olympic prospects considerably.
Lipscomb was 15 th , Michalchuk 20 th , and Lamoureux 30 th .
The snowboardcross events took place Saturday and Sunday. American rider Lindsey Jacobellis won gold on the first day, followed closely by Ricker. Marie Laissus of France was third.
The next Canadian on the list was Dominique Maltais in ninth place, just missing the small final. Maltais was Canada’s top snowboardcross racer at the start of last season, but lost ground due to injuries.
Other Canadians were Dominique Vallée 17 th and Erin Simmons 24 th out of 44 starters.
On the second day of racing Deborah Anthonioz of France took the win, followed by Ricker and Tanja Frieden of Switzerland. Dominique Maltais moved up to seventh and Simmons to 14 th . Whistler’s Candice Drouin, who also races skiercross, was 17 th , followed by Vallée in 18 th .
"I am very happy with my performances this weekend," said Ricker. "It’s a bit frustrating because I lost my race by such a small margin. The judges even needed a video review to confirm the winner…. Still it’s a great way for me to start the season."
For Ricker, the back-to-back silver medals and respectable showings in halfpipe represent the completion of her comeback. Although she has always performed among the best snowboarders in the world, a series of knee injuries and eight knee surgeries kept her on and off the sidelines, for almost four years. Last year she finished third in the World Championship snowboardcross, guaranteeing herself a spot in the Torino Games.
In the men’s snowboardcross, day one went to Xavier Delerue of France, followed by Seth Wescott of the U.S. and Sylvain Duclos of France. Jasey Jay Anderson of Quebec made the final, but wound up in fourth.
Also for Canada, Francois Boivin was 16 th , Drew Neilson 34 th , Tom Velisek 44 th and Don Schwartz 48 th in a field of 62 riders.
On day two Lukas Gruener of Austria took the win, while Delerue returned to the podium again in second place. Guillaume Nantermod of Switzerland and Dieter Krassnig of Austria rounded out the finals in third and fourth.
Drew Neilson was the top Canuck in sixth, followed by Anderson in 10 th and Boivin in 19 th .
The next World Cup event is an indoor parallel giant slalom in the Netherlands on Oct. 7.
Whistler’s World Cup events, a pair of snowboardcross races and halfpipe, are scheduled for Dec. 9-11.
