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The event that many Australians have been waiting for, the men’s snowboard cross, has finally arrived in Sochi, and we’ll be live blogging it here on The Roar from 5:15pm AEDT.
After a day-long delay due to heavy fog, Australia’s flag bearer for the 2014 Winter Olympics, Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, will be riding for gold in the event in which he was crowned world champion in 2013.
There has been no shortage of controversy heading into the event, with Pullin awarded the honour of carrying the flag ahead of Vancouver gold medallists Lydia Lassila and Torah Bright, but tonight it will only be about who gets to the bottom of the course first.
Will Australia’s faith in one of our best chances for a gold be unfounded? Or will Chumpy pull through?
He’s certainly got the pedigree to win here. While the darling of the snow Torah Bright fell short in this event, Pullin is a boardercross specialist. He had a dominant 2012/13 season, tallying four podiums from seven finals appearance to take the world championship and the overall world cup titles.
And unlike many of the other competitors, Pullin hasn’t concerned himself with complaining about the conditions of the Sochi boardercross course. Chumpy was comparatively glowing in his assessment of the conditions he was about to face:
“It’s a good course for the Olympics. I’m excited to race it. Everyone’s going to have a good chance at it. What will be most important is getting to the first turn first.”
He was also excited about the length of the course, and said that even in the cut throat environment of
“If I can get into turn one and lead, I shouldn’t have too many troubles. Get behind, there are definitely passing opportunities.”
Join The Roar for all the updates from Sochi from 5:15pm AEDT as Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin looks to win Australia’s first gold for the 2014 Winter Games.