Ski Slopestyle World Cup in Laax
Hoefflin and Gremaud qualify for the final
With Sarah Hoefflin and Mathilde Gremaud, two Swiss freestyle skiers will qualify for the slopestyle final of the home World Cup in Laax on Friday. This means that several Swiss freestyle athletes will be in action on snowboards and skis at the weekend.
Published: 1:20 p.m
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Updated: 11 minutes ago
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Andri Ragettli is fighting for victory in Laax at the weekend. The Flimser qualified second for the final run.
Nicholas HorniRingier journalism student
With Sarah Hoefflin and Mathilde Gremaud, two Swiss women impressively defied the adverse conditions with temperatures down to -18 degrees, icy wind and sometimes fog or snowfall. The two women from western Switzerland are in the final of the home World Cup in Laax.
Hoefflin in particular delivers an impressive performance on the Crap Sogn Gion. After the first run, the 2018 Olympic champion ranks fourth. In the second round, she proves her skills even more clearly and thus improves to second place.
Other Swiss women fall far behind
Mathilde Gremaud, last year’s Olympic champion, is having a lot more trouble. She falls in the first run and almost in the second run. Ultimately, however, the risky journey paid off and the woman from Friborg also qualified for the final with fourth place.
Giulia Tanno, who competes in a World Cup on Friday for the first time since her injury at the X Games a year ago, clearly misses the final with 15th place. 18-year-old Anouk Andraska from Appenzell is one place behind.
Swiss slopestyle snowboarders disappoint
The conditions in the first run are also quite unfavorable for the slopestyle snowboarders, who start a few hours after the ski freestylers. Although the mercury is now showing around five degrees more, more intense snowfall and wind have set in. 16-year-old Brit Mia Brookes doesn’t care, she’s putting on a very impressive first run. The four Swiss women meanwhile fall short of expectations. All four cannot stand their first run. While Lena Müller and also fall in the second attempt, Andrina Salis and Bianca Gisler each deliver solid rides, but ultimately get stuck in the qualification.
In the men’s snowboard slopestyle, Nicolas Huber from Basel qualified for the final.
Ragettli sovereign, Scherrer with difficulty
With the final qualifications of the two Swiss women, several Swiss will be competing for World Cup victories in their respective disciplines at the weekend. Four Swiss athletes qualified for the final on Thursday: Andri Ragettli, Fabian Bösch, Valentin Morel (ski slopestyle) and Jan Scherrer (snowboard halfpipe). The Flimser Ragettli delivered a strong performance and finished second in the qualification.
Snowboard halfpipe star Jan Scherrer had a lot more trouble than Ragettli. In his first run, the Toggenburger didn’t reach the desired level, but he improved in the second run and qualified for the halfpipe final on Saturday. Elias Allensbach, Gian Andrin Biele were eliminated. In the women’s halfpipe qualification, Berenice Wicki and Isabelle Lötscher were eliminated and are therefore not represented in the women’s final.