RAMPING UP FOR MILAN

Highlighted by Su Yiming's back-to-back wins and his younger compatriots' breakout runs, Chinese snowboarding has signed off at the Shougang Big Air World Cup by providing a strong testament to its collective rise and hopes for a promising future.

Su's second straight big air World Cup win this season, landed at Beijing's iconic, towering slope at the Shougang Industrial Park on Saturday, following his first win on Nov 29 in Chongli, Hebei province, has backed up his high-flying ambition and his gold-defense credentials at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games.

Su's triumphant return to the Chinese capital's western suburbs, and the world's only permanent big air installation, where he delivered China's first ever snowboarding Olympic gold in the discipline at Beijing 2022, wasn't the only achievement to celebrate, though.

With his younger teammates Ge Chunyu and Zhao Yingxu also advancing from the qualifying round, the Saturday night session saw three Chinese snowboarders appear in a World Cup final, across all disciplines, for the first time in the 31-year history of the top-flight FIS series.

The emerging Chinese contingent, riding together at summer training camps in New Zealand and now impressing in the Cup series, has left Su even prouder than completing his own comeback from an injury-plagued year to land on top of the world again.

"My shared podium finish last week with Chunyu already proved that Chinese snowboarding is improving fast," said Su, who, since making his tour debut in 2019 aged 15, had long been China's sole representative on the World Cup stage.

"Now we are riding together with more teammates in the World Cup's final stage, which has further enhanced our confidence."

Zhao, at 16, was the youngest among 10 finalists on Saturday, yet he is already trying to throw some of the craziest tricks — some of which, Su admits, he wouldn't have even attempted at the same age.

Zhao failed to land his first two runs, but, to rousing cheers from the Shougang crowd, managed to stomp a cab 1800 nosegrab in his third and final attempt, which helped him move up a spot to finish ninth.

The top-10 finish also earned him 317 ranking points in the Cup season's standings, keeping alive his hopes for the Olympic qualification cut, which will be made on Jan 19.

"I didn't land all my runs the way I'd expected, falling a little bit short of my own expectations, but, overall, it was a good night for me," said Zhao, who was competing in just his second World Cup event, following his debut at the season opener in Chongli.

"It was a great learning curve, though, which helped me gain more experience and to become more mentally mature at this level.

"More importantly, all the Chinese snowboarders riding together makes me feel so good, like a family."

The Chinese riders' fast progress has also left some of the world's best impressed.

Canada's snowboarding legend Mark McMorris, a three-time Olympian who has visited China frequently over the past 15 years, said he had seen it coming years ago.

"The sport as a whole is growing so much in China," said McMorris, who, at 31, is still pushing to try and qualify for Italy and what would be his fourth Olympics.

"The Chinese athletes at this level are riding so well. They looked really good in the air. They've been putting in a lot of work, and you guys have a lot of nice facilities now, so it only makes sense that they grow so well," said the three-time Olympic bronze medalist and holder of a record 24 Winter X Games medals.

Peak condition

With about two months to go before the 2026 Winter Olympics open on Feb 6 in Milan, Su's regained his winning edge and, most importantly, prime physical condition at the right time to boost his chances of repeating his golden run in Italy.

The 21-year-old, however, said he will approach the coming challenge with a humble and focused mindset.

"It's really a big honor and confidence boost for me to return to the top of the podium at the venue where my dreams all started," said Su, who had to settle with a last-place finish at last year's World Cup in Shougang due to nagging foot and shoulder injuries.

"It's only a small goal accomplished for me, though. My target in the long run is, for sure, to defend my gold at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics," said Su, who currently tops the Olympic qualifying ranking list thanks to his back-to-back Cup wins.

"I hope to stay humble and calm to better prepare for my ultimate goal, which is to achieve good results at the 2026 Olympics and bring more glory to my country."

It was Su's third triumph at the monster Shougang slope, after his groundbreaking home Olympic win in 2022 and his 2023 World Cup victory, and he nailed it by stomping three 1980 tricks in a row — elevating Su's trick quality and consistency to new heights.

Su's long-term Japanese coach Sato Yasuhiro, however, revealed that Su has even more tricks up his sleeve.

"We were trying to win in Chongli, because the first competition of the year is really important, but, here, we are trying some new things," said Sato, who is widely regarded as the "godfather of Japanese snowboarding".

"The big spins don't always bring the wins, so we are trying to create something new, something really complicated, but we are only halfway there in training," he said.

Chad Buchholz, media coordinator from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the sport's governing body, hailed Su as the home hero, saying he deserves all the credit for promoting snowboarding in China.

"Tonight was one of the greatest big air competitions that I've ever witnessed ... I am happy to suggest the jump be renamed the 'Su Yiming Stadium'," Buchholz joked. "He really deserves it."

The FIS Big Air World Cup tour now heads to Steamboat, Colorado, from Dec 11-13, for what will be the final Olympic qualifier.