Michela Moioli, Olympic run-up begins with a podium finish: "Nice to start like this"
Michela Moioli never ceases to amaze. In Cervinia, the Bergamasque hits podium number 45 of her career in snowboard cross, confirming herself as the absolute protagonist of the discipline: in a complicated final, with a start from fourth position, Moioli was able to come back up to second place behind Frenchwoman Lea Casta, while the third step went to Australian Josie Baff. For the Italian, who is also counting on being a protagonist at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, this was the fifth podium on the Aosta Valley snows, where she had already collected three victories and a third place.
“The first podium of the season is always the most difficult – commented Michele Moioli, on the sidelines of the awards ceremony that saw her take the second step, a result that definitely pleased her -. Today was a good battle and I had a lot of fun, that is the beauty of this sport. In every round you have to fight as if it were the final round. I had a lot of fun: in turn 1 of the final the Australian edged and I had to too, but I stayed focused because I knew I was fast in the final part, I attacked at the right time. For me it feels good to start the season like this”.
A day to remember, too, for 17-year-old Lisa Francesia Boirai from Valle d’Aosta, who finished seventh and was the author of her own career-best performance. Aggressive and ready to take advantage of her opportunities, the young athlete was able to impose herself in the round of 16 and, accomplice to the fall of Charlotte Bankes, reached the semifinals for the first time, facing her own captain. In the quarters, however, Sophie Groblechner came to a halt, while Moioli continued her run: second in the semifinals behind Casta, she gained access to the Big Final, where she signed yet another podium finish of an extraordinary career. Francesia Boirai ended her adventure in the Small Final, fourth in the run and seventh overall.
“A great team performance – commented the technical director of the National Snowboard Team, Cesare Pisoni -, with Boirai finishing seventh and putting herself behind many experienced athletes, and Michi finding the podium again on this slope that has already given her so many joys. I want to congratulate all the staff and skimen, because we also found the best materials to be competitive”.
In the men’s draw, the only Italian to make it past the round of 16 was Lorenzo Sommariva, who qualified in the quarters as second in his battery, only to stop against France’s Jonas Chollet, America’s Pare and Germany’s Ulbricht, thus finishing ninth overall. Already out in the round of 16 were Omar Visintin, Filippo Ferrari, Matteo Rezzoli and Tommaso Leoni, the latter the victim of a fall with facial and cervical trauma: transported to Aosta’s emergency room, he will undergo further investigations by the FISI Medical Commission. The race saw the triumph of the Chollet brothers, with Jonas ahead of Aidan, while the third step of the podium went to Australian Adam Lambert.
