Snowboarder Cavigelli wins big air in Seoul
Swiss wunderkind snowboarder Gian-Luca Cavigelli dominated the big air competition in Seoul on Sunday to win his first World Cup title.
He beat Austria’s Stefan Gimpl, who finished a close second with two strong runs coming off the 34-metre ramp, followed by Finland’s Markku Koski.
Cavigelli said he was relaxed, especially after nailing the first jump but was excited to have a World Cup title.
“I feel great at the moment to have won my first World Cup. It’s a super great feeling, super special city, and it’s the best,” Cavigelli said.
The 22-year-old set the pace with a big backside 1080 – three rotations in the air – that went unmatched throughout the competition.
The rising star put together three huge, clean jumps that had the crowd of 50,000 in the South Korean capital roaring.
Gimpl put the pressure on Cavigelli with a high-scoring opening jump but touched his hand down on his second. He came back with a strong third run and clean landing to secure the silver.
Gimpl, 30, remains at the top of the World Cup standings, with 3,800 points. Cavigelli is in second with 3,100 points and Japan’s Kazuhiro Kokubo is third with 1,600 points.
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