Sochi 2014 unveil 3D model of para-snowboard course

Sochi 2014 have released a 3D computer model of the para-snowboard cross circuit that will be used by riders on their debut at the Paralympic Games in March.

The model clearly shows all 22 features on the challenging 680m long course which will be used for competitions on Friday 14 March.

IPC Alpine Skiing Sport Senior Manager Dimitrije Lazarovski said:

“This course is perfect for the debut of snowboard at a Winter Games and the model is great for fans to see ahead of the competitions.

“We asked for a 3D computer model because we wanted to be able to show that riders will be shown no mercy and will have to really work to post good times and win those coveted medals.”

Almost immediately after leaving the gate, the first feature athletes will face is one of four triple rollers at the top of the course followed by a jump and the first of two double rollers. In the wider part of the slope, there are then four steep bank turns, split by another jump and the second triple roller.

As the terrain levels out, riders enter the more technical section of the course, complete with two smaller bank turns and the remaining rollers, including a section of four, and a roller turn before finishing with a flourish over another triple roller and a step-up jump as the very last feature.

Riders such as the Netherlands’ Bibian Mentel-Spee, who at the Test Event in March won the women’s race with a time that would have given her a men’s silver medal, will be arriving in Sochi in search of the very first Paralympic snowboard medals.

America also have a very strong snowboard team heading to Russia, with the likes of 2012 World Champion Evan Strong and Mentel-Spee’s biggest rival Amy Purdy.

The course is located at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Centre, with the terrain profile there offering developers the chance to design a technically challenging course, that will give spectators a great race to watch.

Competitions for women and men in the lower-limb impairment classification will take place on Friday, 14 March at 10am (MSK).

The International Paralympic Committee will livestream over 300 hours of action from Sochi 2014 across five HD channels at www.Paralympic.org.