麻豆社国产snowboarders Ma毛lle Ricker and Rob Fagan remain Canada's hottest riders on the boardercross World Cup circuit after placing seventh and sixth respectively in Bad Gastein, Austria on Sunday (Jan. 10).
Although the official Olympic team has yet to be announced, the two riders are expected to be serious contenders at the upcoming Winter Games.
Despite missing the podium this week, Ricker leads the overall World Cup standings after starting the season with two gold medals. Fagan is ranked second behind France's Pierre Vaultier, having previously earned silver and ninth place finishes.
In Bad Gastein, Fagan won his first two elimination heats before getting beaten out by two other competitors in the semi-final. Relegated to the small final of four riders, the 33-year-old placed second for the sixth overall placing while American Nate Holland took gold in the final.
The upcoming Winter Games is making competition extra fierce as boarders battle for berths to the big show, Fagan said in a release.
"It was a very tight course. With four guys battling and everyone trying to qualify for the Olympics it's super tight. I'm fired up for the next two races, feel like I'm sticking to the training I did all fall and I'm stoked moving forward to 2010," he said.
Ricker was also relegated to the small final, where she finished third to earn seventh place overall. American rival Lindsay Jacobellis, who is the defending women's Crystal Globe champion, posted her first win of the season.
In a release, Ricker said she was disappointed in her semi-final performance.
"I made a massive tactical error on the last jump in my semi-final today and it cost me a place in the final. Today's result was hard to swallow but I'm excited to get back on course in Switzerland next week," she said.
Meanwhile, local snowboard cross athlete Tom Velisek's chances of making the Olympic team became slimmer with a 49th overall placing at Bad Gastein. He can't remember ever failing to be one of the top 32 riders to advance, he said in an email, but he ended up overshooting a jump and wiping out in the second qualifying run after taking his first run too cautiously because of heavy fog.
"As you can imagine this is very disappointing for me as I was riding very strong in training and looking for a win here to secure my Olympic spot. Now it's down to the last two races," said Velisek, who placed 17th and 23rd in two previous World Cups this season.
The riders are competing in two more World Cups before the Olympics, starting with Switzerland today (Jan. 15) and Stoneham, Que. Jan. 20 to 24.
