Shea, Mentel-Spee take second para-snowboard wins

“I’m happy to win this World Cup. More than anything, it gives a lot of confidence for the rest of the season and I think that is really important.”

US snowboarder Mike Shea triumphed over his Paralympic champion teammate Evan Strong for the second time in as many days in banked slalom at the 2014 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Landgraaf, the Netherlands.

Shea's (1:05.78) victory in the men’s SB-LL2 follows his win from Wednesday’s (29 November) Europa Cup.

Wednesday's bronze medallist - Carl Murphy (1:10.25) of New Zealand, this time took silver whilst Sochi 2014 gold medallist Strong (1:10.35) had to settle for bronze.

The win is a welcome confidence boost for Sochi 2014 silver medallist Shea, as banked slalom will be included for the first time at the 2015 IPC Para Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain, from 23-28 February.

Shea said “It went better than yesterday. I think the course was lined up better and it all came together.

“I’m happy to win this World Cup. More than anything, it gives a lot of confidence for the rest of the season and I think that is really important.”

Dutch Paralympic champion Bibian Mentel-Spee (1:14.09) also took a second victory at the indoor slopes of Snowworld. The perfect start to her 2014-15 season came against Australia’s Joany Badenhorst (1:27.89) and protege Lisa Bunschoten (1:28.63) in the women’s SB-LL2.

“Yesterday I made a deal with Lisa that she would be on the podium with me,” Mentel-Spee said. “Because yesterday she came forth and she is a very good snowboarder, so I knew she could do it. It is great that it worked out for her today.”

France’s Cecile Hernandez-Cervellon (1:29.17) was the third rider to complete a 100 per cent record in the women’s SB-LL1 race.

The podium mirrored that of Wednesday as American teammates Brenna Huckaby (1:45.26) and Nicole Roundy (1:51.13) rounded-off the top three.

The men’s race featured another encouraging performance from American newcomer Mike Schultz (1:18.22), who beat Europa Cup gold medallist Chris Vos (1:19.45) of the Netherlands. France’s Patrice Barattero (1:25.06) completed the podium.

The men’s upper-limb impairment competition saw Austrian 2013-14 world No.3 Patrick Mayrhofer (1:16.98) hit better form after making into third 24 hours previously.

Great Britain’s Ben Moore proved that he is a face to look out for this season, again taking silver just behind Mayrhofer in 1:17.08. Italian Manuel Pozzerle (1:17.30) finished with bronze despite being the only rider to go below a 38 second run.

Full results can be found at IPC Alpine Skiing's calendar and results page.

The next World Cup in Aspen, USA, from 11-13 January will feature the exciting debut of a new format for snowboard-cross, where riders will race head-to-head after an initial qualification round.

La Molina 2015 will see around 80 athletes from 20 countries gather for the biggest meeting of para-snowboarders since Sochi 2014.