Austrian, Czech riders win on Beijing 2022 Snowboard Cross track

CHONGLI, China, Nov.28 (Xinhua) -- Austria's Alessandro Haemmerle and Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic took the men's and women's titles respectively at the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup, also a Beijing 2022 test event, here on Sunday.

Italy's Omar Visintin and Nick Baumgartner of the United States finished second and third in the men's race respectively. Charlotte Bankes of Britain took silver in the women's race, while Italy's Michela Moioli scooped the bronze.

Haemmerle and Visintin, who are both No.1 in the latest rankings, both crossed the finish line first in their own groups of the last-32 run. They advanced into the same quarterfinal and semifinal heats, with Visintin emerging victorious on both occasions.

But Haemmerle didn't allow the Italian to surpass him for a third time when it mattered most, and lifted the trophy after the big final.

"[I didn't expect] the race would end on the finish line, I knew it was going to be tight, but it turned out well," said Haemmerle.

On the women's side, reigning Olympic champion Moioli, bronze medallist Samkova, world champion Bankes and Austria's young rider Pia Zerkhold stood in the starting gate of the big final.

Samkova took the lead soon after the start, leaving Bankes and Moioli fighting for second and third. Zerkhold, who was making her World Cup big final debut, exited the medal race early.

"The course is really long and you have to work super hard across all the rollers. It was a really tough fight," said Samkova.