Ben Wins Back-To-Back Para Snowboard World Cup Gold

Three-time Paralympian and NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Ben Tudhope has won back-to-back golds at the Pyhatunturi Para Snowboard Cross World Cups in Finland over the weekend.

In his first snowboard cross competitions since winning bronze at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, Ben led from the front in both events, winning qualification and taking an early lead in the finals, knowing there were limited opportunities for overtaking on the intricate Finnish course.

Having won two silver world cup medals in Para Banked Slalom events at the end of 2022, the 23-year-old Sydney sider said he’s stoked with the start of his SBX season.

“It’s great to start the year off in a really positive way and get the double win here in Finland,” Ben said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a boardercross course, pretty much the last time was in Beijing when I got third, but being back in Finland is amazing. I love it here, especially when I spent almost half the year here over the last three years, it feels like a second home to me.”

With a deeper understanding of the Finnish Resort, Ben said he had a clear game plan to keep USA’s Keith Gabel and Japan’s Takahito Ichikawa in the minor placings, with both athletes joining Ben on the podium over the two days.

“I won qualification both days and then was able to win the start and get our front. There wasn’t too much room for passing on this course so I knew I needed to get out in front early and stick to my line and stay there and I’m so glad I was able to pull that off,” he said.

“The competition is so tough now. It’s definitely upgraded since Beijing and everyone is riding really well and everyone wants it just as bad as each other.

“The course setters did an amazing job, so to stick to our game plan and execute what I needed to do was an added bonus. I was definitely focused on winning and being with the team. Having the right people around me, we were able to deliver.”

The Para Snowboard World Championships were originally scheduled to take place alongside the Para Alpine World Championships in Espot, Spain from 19-29 January, but the Snowboard events have been postponed to 12-18 March due to a lack of snow in Europe’s unseasonably warm winter.

Article and image courtesy of Snow Australia