Lambert Soars to Silver in Georgia

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete and Olympic snowboarder Adam Lambert has achieved his first podium performance of the season, finishing second in the Snowboard Cross World Cup event overnight in Gudauri, Georgia, giving 27-year-old from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains the fourth World Cup podium of his career.

Competing under sunny skies at the Gudauri resort, the day featured a number of crashes from many of the top riders in the field.

On the previous day, Lambert qualified in 15^th for finals, and today had a sensational day of head-to-head racing winning the round of 32, quarter-final and semi-final, to advance through to the top four big-final medal round.

In the big-final, Lambert was moved between second and third place for much of the race and was fortunately ahead of a crash on the final feature involving Eliot Grondin of Canada and Elias Leitner of Austria to finish in second place behind winner Jakob Dusek on Austria.

Grondin finished in third with Leitner fourth.

“The men’s big final is always really competitive, ” said Lambert.

“I have had a few in my time, I would like to have more, but it’s always fun to race all day and not go out in the early rounds, so I am stoked.”

“I think tomorrow I can do what I did today, I don’t want to put any unnecessary pressure on myself.”

“I feel if I race liked I raced today, I have a good chance of doing it again, but anything can happen, it’s boarder cross.”

In the women’s event, French riders took out the top two places, with Julia Pereira de Sousa in first, Lea Casta second and Italian Michela Moioli in third.

Three-time Olympian and NSWIS athlete Belle Brockhoff was in strong form qualifying in third place and made it through to the small-final.

Unfortunately, Brockhoff suffered a crash and was taken away by the medical services team on course, ultimately finishing in eighth place.

Brockhoff is currently in hospital in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she is undergoing further assessment with the support of Australian team medical staff.

World number three and NSWIS athlete Josie Baff also crashed in the first round of finals and will be assessed ahead of tomorrow event, finishing ninth.

Mia Clift was ninth and Amber Essex 26th.

Other Australian results included NSWIS athletes Cameron Bolton, who placed ninth, and Jarryd Hughes 25^th.

Declan Dent placed 37^th, Matthew Thomas 48^th and James Johnstone 50^th.

After five events, Baff remains third on the standings on 339 points, trailing Casta in second on 445 and Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain in front on 462.

The men’s standings sees Bolton in sixth on 194 and Lambert moves into ninth following his podium performance.

The snowboard cross athletes are back in action again tomorrow, competing in a second World Cup in Gudauri.

Story courtesy of Olympic Winter institute of Australia