The German snowboard aces started the Olympic winter without Ramona Hofmeister, but with a lot of momentum and a podium finish. Stefan Baumeister promptly reached the winner’s podium in the parallel giant slalom in Mylin, China. Elias Huber and Cheyenne Loch also completed their Olympic qualification.
The Olympics are still a long way away for German snowboarders. At least Stefan Baumeister didn’t realize that his second place in the second race of the season also meant the ticket to the highlight of the season. “I actually didn’t think about the Olympic qualification in advance, we have so many races before the Olympics“, said the snowboarder from SC Aising-Pang.
First podium in three years
He was much more pleased about his first podium after a three-year dry spell. “My first podium in three years, the first in the PGS in four years, I’m really happy. Now to take second place on the second day of the season – it can continue like this”said Baumeister, who only had to admit defeat to the Italian Mirko Felicetti.
Stefan Baumeister at the World Cup in Mylin, China
Huber and Loch break the Olympic standard
In addition to Baumeister, Elias Huber (SC Schellenberg) and Cheyenne Loch (SC Schliersee) also met the Olympic standard at the first World Cup weekend. Huber narrowly missed the podium in fourth place, but confirmed his good form at the end of last season. “Of course it would have been great to be on the podium now, but I’ve learned a lot, I know where I need to improve now, and I’ll continue next week“, said Huber, who stood on a World Cup podium for the first time at the beginning of the year and won the parallel giant slalom in Canada at the end of February.
Cheyenne Loch celebrated two strong top ten finishes and left Mylin with a good feeling: “Overall I’m happy, everything I need is there, I just have to get it down,” she said after her eighth place finish on Sunday.
Cheyenne Loch finished in a good eighth place.
Things weren’t quite as rosy for the rest of the team. Melanie Hochreiter, Yannik Angenend and Ole Mikkel Prantl missed qualifying for the finals on both days. For the young riders Max Kühnhauser and Samuel Vojtasek, it was all about gaining important World Cup experience. The two competed in their first World Cup races outside of Europe in China.
Ramona Hofmeister continues to work on her comeback
A big name was missing from the opening weekend. Ramona Hofmeister, four-time overall World Cup winner, suffered a fractured ankle during training in September and has been working on her comeback ever since. It’s also a race against time. The last opportunity to qualify for the Olympics is at the World Cup in Bulgaria on January 17th and 18th, 2026.
Until then, Hofmeister will give everything to return to the World Cup stage. The 29-year-old is familiar with setbacks. In 2018 she quickly came back after the second slipped disc in her career. A similar lightning healing is now also needed, and above all, trust. “There is no timetable. I want to be free of my mind and not put any pressure on myself”said Hofmeister in a BR interview a few weeks ago.