FIS Snowboard World Cup Carezza and Cortina d’Ampezzo: Preview, schedule and how to watch live

Italian favorites look to send an early message to rivals on home slopes

Few athletes will be more eager for a good showing at both world cups than parallel giant slalom world cup leader Edwin Coratti, and teammates Maurizio Bormolini and Mirko Felicetti.

The trio will hope to display a show of force ahead of their home Olympic Games, with all three exhibiting the necessary credentials to become the first Italian man to win a medal in the parallel giant slalom at the Winter Olympic Games.

Coratti will look to recover from a premature exit at the second world cup stop in Yanqing, People’s Republic of China, while Bormolini will look to move one step higher on the podium after failing to finish during the big final.

All three riders will need to fend off a field of equally talented riders, including Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Benjamin Karl, Beijing 2022 silver medalist Tim Mastnak and Pyeongchang 2018 silver medalist Sangho Lee, to stamp any sort of authority on their home snow.

Austria’s Benjamin Karl – winner of the crystal globe last season – will hope to bounce back from a disappointing start to the season, including a disqualification at the second world cup stop in Yanqing.

However, the man to watch might be Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak, as he attempts to reduce, or even surpass, Coratti’s lead in the world cup standings and build on a resume that already includes one world cup victory this season.