Canada seeks elusive gold in men’s snowboard cross; Italy favorite to score women’s title on home soil
Canada’s Eliot Grondin searches for first men’s gold at third Olympics
Canadian Eliot Grondin has been the most consistent rider in the field. He’s the reigning 2025 world champion and claimed back-to-back Crystal Globes the past two seasons. Although he hasn’t competed often in the past few months, Grondin is still the podium favorite. He could win Canada’s first gold medal in the event after just missing out at the Beijing Games in a photo finish. He claimed silver in the individual event and bronze in the mixed team contest in 2022.
The French were on the podium at every Games until Beijing in 2022, when Merlin Surget led the country to finish 16th at best. Since then, Surget has posted two top-10 World Cup finishes this season.
France’s Loan Bozzolo and brother duo Aidan and Jonas Chollet could also be in medal contention, with Bozzolo placing 2nd at the 2025 World Championships. Aidan clinched three podiums this season, while younger brother Jonas had a surprise World Cup win in December that solidified his spot on the French Olympic team.
Austrian veteran Alessandro Haemmerle, the defending Olympic gold medalist who prevailed over Grondin in the photo finish in Beijing, is likely to be in the podium mix after placing 3rd at the 2025 World Championships.
