Josie Baff, Adam Lambert: Aussie Olympic snowboarders speed to World Cup podium

Australia’s top snowboard cross riders have made a superb start to their top-level Winter Olympic preparations in the Italian Alps, with Josie Baff and Adam Lambert both grabbing bronze medals at the World Cup meeting at Cervinia.

Baff, a Youth Olympics champion who looks set to be in the mix for the senior title in Cortina next February, finished third in her four-racer women’s ‘Big Final’ before her Jindabyne buddy Lambert replicated that result in a landmark men’s race on Saturday.

Ever-improving 28-year-old NSW racer Lambert finished behind Jonas and Aidan Chollet, French siblings who ended up hugging in the snow as they became the first pair of brothers ever to achieve a one-two in a World Cup snowboarding event.

The surprise was that 17-year-old phenomenon Jonas, who clocked 49.37 seconds to Aidan’s 50.21, is the younger and more inexperienced of the pair, but his 21-year-old brother didn’t appear to mind.

“When I passed the line with him, it’s crazy, I love this feeling. It’s the best race ever,” swooned Aidan, amazed at how Jonas had won in just his fourth World Cup start.

Behind this fraternal scrap, Lambert, who also had two podium finishes last year, bided his time before making his move but couldn’t quite get on terms with the French pair.

Yet as he lunged for the line, he managed to pip German Martin Noerl for the bronze, with both men credited with the same time, 50.43sec.

“I had a plan the whole run. I knew I was going to get out fourth or third, because those two Chollet brothers are fast as,” said Lambert.

“I had a line that I’d been running all day and I knew it was fast. I came up a bit too fast on them in turn five, and couldn’t get in the draft, but I’m so stoked with third, it’s not even a big problem.”

Josie Baff ended up with a World Cup snowboard cross bronze for Australia in a thrilling ‘Big Final’.

The 22-year-old Baff was equally as delighted about her bronze as she finished behind only last year’s World Cup champion Lea Casta, of France, and Italy’s world champion Michela Moioli.

Baff employed different tactics to Lambert, blasting away from the start and hoping to hold on, but though she lost position after an early mistake on the first turn in the final, it still proved a close-run affair as Casta pipped Moioli with the Aussie holding off Swiss Sina Siegenthaler for the bronze.

“That was super-tight racing,” enthused Baff. “When we came out of the second-last turn, all four of us were together, boards were hitting boards, and it was pretty crazy actually.

“But I’m super-happy to have a podium for the first race of the season.”

On Sunday, there’s the prospect of a superb mixed team event with Baff and Lambert joining forces to take on the two teenage individual winners, Jonas Chollet and Casta, who will renew their junior partnership for France on the senior stage.