SNOWBOARD Preview: SnowCross season leads on the line in Spain

Snowboard Cross Olympic and World Champion Lindsey Jacobellis (USA)

The FIS Snowboard Cross season has just five events in it this season, with the fourth coming this weekend at Baqueria/Beret in Spain and everything still to be decided.

The standings:

Men:
1. 1,650 Martin Noerl (GER)
2. 1,278 Emanuel Perathoner (ITA)
3. 1,135 Omar Visintin (ITA)
4. 1,100 Jake Vedder (USA)
5. 1,072 Cameron Bolton (AUS)

Women:
1. 2,800 Lindsey Jacobellis (USA)
2. 2,400 Eva Samkova (CZE)
3. 1,600 Michela Moioli (ITA)
4. 1,450 Charlotte Bankes (GBR)
5. 1,200 Nelly Moenne Loccoz (FRA)

Noerl, Perathoner and Bolton have won the three prior events and only Noerl (1-0-1) has more than one medal. World Champion Mick Dierdorff of the U.S. and Worlds bronze medalist Perathoner must be considered as well. Austria’s Alessandro Hammerle, the World Cup runner-up last season, won at La Molina (ESP) last year and should contend as well.

With such a low score for the seasonal leader – 1,650 by Noerl – anyone could step in and take the seasonal title.

The women’s competition has more structure, thanks to two wins and a second from six-time World Champion Jacobellis, who is entered, along with the rest of the top-five seasonal scorers. She did not make the SnowCross final in the World Championships, but won the Mixed Team event with Dierdorff.

Samkova won the world title, followed by Bankes and Moioli and won at La Molina in Spain last year. Jacobellis has won the World Cup title twice, but not since 2008-09; Samkova won last year and Moioli won in 2016-17.

Look for results here.