Moioli wins overall snowboard cross World Cup title

Australian Belle Brockhoff led from the outset in the final at Baqueira Beret and managed to hold off battling 2014 Olympic Champion Eva Samkova to clinch her maiden World Cup event win – handing the overall title to Moioli. Italian Moioli won the minor-final and with Samkova failing to overturn Brockhoff in the major-final, the 21-year-old retained just a 40 point advantage – 5100 to 5060 – in the overall standings, but was nonetheless happy to get over the line. She said: “I never felt so good before. I'm very happy about the World Cup title win. I didn't do as good as I wanted today, so it got tight in the end but that's boardercross – and I won the title!” Second-placed Samkova applauded Moioli and said she was looking forward to claiming the only trophy missing from her cabinet. She said: “I'm ready for next season. I really want to win the World Cup title. That's the one thing I'm still missing, but I'm happy for Michela Moioli who was riding really good this season.” Alex Pullin claimed his sixth career World Cup triumph and completed an Australian double in the snowboard cross on the day ahead of Canadian Kevin Hill in second and local boy Lucas Eguibar equalling his overall World Cup finish with a third place. Two-time World Champion Pullin said: “It's been a great finish of the season to win here in Spain. I'm already looking forward to the next year. “I loved the course that they built here. It's been a great race. Everyone did a fantastic job, and I think we really saw that in the final of the last four guys. France’s Pierre Vaultier had been crowned World Cup champion before today, but finished fourth overall in Spain, while overall second-place Alessandro Haemmerle had to settle for second in the minor-final.

Sportsbeat 2016