Huckaby, Elliott Victorious Again in Grasgehren Snowboard Cross

It was a victorious day for the U.S. Para Snowboard Team in Grasgehren, Germany as Noah Elliott (LL1) and Brenna Huckaby (LL1) both stood atop the podium for the third time this season. 

The warm, wet weather made for difficult conditions for riders across the board. Huckaby told FIS Para Snow Sports, “you have to be really light on your snowboard, which we don’t see very often. The riding was not what we’re typically used to, but everyone did amazing and gave it their all.”

The U.S. team didn’t seem phased by the conditions. Just behind Huckaby in the women’s LL1-LL2 classification was Kate Delson, who finished in second place, followed by Dennae Russell in fourth. 

On the men’s side, it was a battle in the LL2 event where Zach Miller led the way for the U.S., finishing third in his first snowboard cross World Cup event of the season, an impressive feat after missing the last event in Pyhä, Finland.

"It’s [finishing on the podium] a great feeling, and a huge relief," said Miller. "I had a lot of time between this and the last race I competed in, but I spent it training hard at home so I could hit the ground running once I got here, and I was able to do exactly that." When asked about his preference between snowboard cross (sbx) and banked slalom, Miller said, "I personally do best in banked slalom, however the tactics of SBX, and the sheer excitement of dropping into a race with three other athletes is just so incredible. SBX is so exciting, and today was a great showcase of that! Moving forward, it’s about building on this momentum and making days like this more consistent. Our team is becoming a well-oiled machine because we’ve put a lot of effort into creating a good system, and now it’s about trusting the process and improving every day. As long as we’re doing that, we’ll just keep getting faster"

Just off the podium was Keith Gabel in fifth, followed by Evan Strong in sixth and Joe Pleban in ninth. Rounding out the results was Mike Minor in the Men’s UL classification, finishing seventh. 

The team takes on another snowboard cross event in Grasgehren tomorrow, Feb. 23, before heading to Colere, Italy, for a mix of banked slalom and snowboard cross World Cup events Feb. 28-Mar. 3.