Team GB's 2014 Olympic Snowboard finalist, 22 Year old Jamie Nicholls, is already proving he'll be ready for the next winter Olympics in 2018 by taking 1st place in the World Cup Slopestyle Snowboarding Competition in the Czech Republic yesterday, Sunday 20th March 2016.
It's the first time a British male has won a snowboarding World Cup event. Fellow GB Park and Pipe athlete Billy Morgan finishing in third place and in the ladies competition Katie Ormerod finished second to claim yet another podium.
Competed against 46 of the world's best snowboarders in the resort of Spindleruv Myln, Nicholls beat all comers on the Slopestyle course which featured four huge rails and an even bigger jump.
The Snow Centre's sponsored 22 Year old athlete's winning run included a Cab 180 Spin with a Back 360 Spin off the 1st rail, a Frontside 180 Spin to Cab 360 Spin off the 2nd rail, a Switch Boardslide 450 Spin off the 3rd rail and on the 4th rail, a Back 270 Spin to Boardslide, finishing with a Backside 1260 Spin on the jump.
"I am excited to have won a World Cup! I feel like I'm just getting started and I'm really looking forward to the next year, where my competition points will contribute towards ensuring me a place in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea," said Nicholls, who currently resides in Guildford, Surrey but is originally from Yorkshire – like several other leading lights of the current GB Park and Pipe team.
"I liked the course set-up as I'm more the rail rider, so it did fit me a lot. Also the atmosphere here was nice, the crowd was super loud which I also liked a lot," Nicholls added.
Nicholls is also famous for his Hemel Runs (I & II) which were viral hits on the internet:
Nicholl's Wortld Cup success followed some world class riding from GB Park and Pipe athletes at the Spring Battle in Flachau, where the team secured three more podiums. Billy Morgan was top of the pile in the men's snowboard competition, with Jamie Nicholls clinching fourth. For the women, Katie Ormerod finished in second with Aimee Fuller just behind her in third.
The domination of the World Cup and Spring Battle came straight after Izzy Atkins' 2nd place and James 'Woodsy' Woods came 3rd in the AFP World Tour event in La Clusaz on Friday.
www.jamienichollsuk.com