Colere to close off World Cup season with snowboard cross races

Colere, Italy will host the closing World Para Snowboard World Cup of the 2020-21 season from 31 March to 2 April. This competition will feature two snowboard-cross races, following up on the two that were held in Pyha, Finland in mid-February.

The World Cup in Colere is a new addition to the competition schedule and will give athletes another opportunity to test their skills with under one year to go until the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games.

“After the World Cup in Pyha it was clear we needed to find another spot for some more World Cups in this difficult season, especially for the athletes,” said Alex Andreis, World Para Snowboard Race Director. 

“They train hard to improve their riding and their goal is to compete with other athletes from around the globe. It is our job to make this possible, to find good resorts and organising committees in order to guarantee safe, fair and challenging competitions. I’m sure that with the Italian resort of Colere and the involved parties, we found what we were looking for.”
 
There are currently 27 athletes from nine countries entered to compete at the World Cup in Italy. This includes Paralympic champions Noah Elliott and Mike Schultz of the USA, multi-world champions Chris Vos and Lisa Bunschoten of the Netherlands, as well as the much-anticipated comeback of double Paralympic champion Brenna Huckaby. The US SB-LL1 rider took a break after the 2018-19 season to give birth to her second daughter.

The World Cup in Colere will also feature a strong local delegation, led by Jacopo Luchini in the men’s SB-UL class. The Italian rider won both snowboard-cross races in Pyha and was third overall in the rankings last season.

“The Italian Paralympic Committee, FISIP (Italian Para Snow Sports Federation), Colere Organising Committee and Polha Varese association are all together happy and proud to host a Para snowboard World Cup in Italy again after exactly five years. It is a great occasion for athletes from all over the world to be able to compete in such a difficult winter season,” said Tiziana Nasi, FISIP President.

“We are very happy to host a Para snowboard World Cup in Colere,” the Colere 2021 Organising Committee added in a statement. “We would like to thank our ski resort for believing in our sport. Snowboard-cross is our passion and we are glad and proud to enjoy it with all the coming nations.”

Live results and news from the World Cup in Colere, Italy will be available on the World Para Snowboard website.