Jess Rich ‘super happy’ with Beijing Big Air World Cup result

Surgery then rehab for a broken collar bone after a mishap in New Zealand in August is all behind Snowboard Big Air’s Jess Rich now that she’s been able to contest her opening World Cup in Beijing over the weekend.

Finishing seventh and fractionally out of the top six finalists with 71.25 points in a highly competitive field in Beijing, Rich’s main goal was ‘a safe and stylish trick’.

“I am super happy with seventh, although I would have loved to have been in the finals. It is nice to build up some confidence after not being able to ride in the past few contests due to injury,” she said.

The event, which was won by Austria’s Anna Gasser, presented all the competitors with challenging conditions in the quest to secure an Olympic qualification spot.

“Every contest at the moment is pretty stacked because everyone is trying to secure their spot in the top thirty. My jump was really good, but the conditions were a little tough. The landing was super icy so if you didn’t land perfectly you couldn’t land,” Rich explained.

The 27-year-old’s main focus as she heads into her first World Cup for the season has been to ensure she is fit and ready to compete after injuries reduced the amount of time spent training in the snow.

“I’ve had a tough run with injuries this past year so I haven’t had as much time on snow as I would have liked,” she said.
“I am just hoping to stay consistent in the next few contests and hopefully qualify for the Olympics in February.”

Next up for Jess Rich is another Big Air World Cup in Moenchengladbach in Germany on December 2nd before heading to Copper Mountain in USA.

Belinda Noonan
OWIA