First a midwife in the stable, then a hero in the World Cup

Without Roland Fischnaller, the snowboarding world would undoubtedly be poorer by one of its greatest personalities. In Rogla, the 45-year-old added another chapter to his incredible career: Because several calves were due on his family farm in Villnöß, he only made it to the World Cup in Slovenia at the last minute – and finished second, beaten only by South Korea's Sangho Lee.

Fischnaller didn't see the fact that it was a "dead" race, meaning both Fischnaller and Lee crossed the finish line simultaneously in the final, forcing a photo finish where the Korean was ahead by half a finger's length, as a defeat: "If I get upset or even complain about a second place, I'd be better off staying home. I'm simply happy that my form is excellent, my confidence is high, my equipment is outstanding, and everything is going very, very well. I'm completely relaxed and in a good mood."

The decision was that close.

And yet, Fischnaller, who competed in his 283rd World Cup race on Saturday and achieved his 57th podium finish, analyzed the final run with his usual critical eye: "I didn't quite find my rhythm in the final, often finishing my turn just under the gate. That's not my usual style of skiing at all. To be honest, I was surprised myself that it was so close right to the end."

First midwife, then snowboard star Fischnaller has already won twice in Rogla (2013 and 2023), finished third in 2018, and second in 2020. However, he didn't have perfect race preparation this time because of the arrival of his cows. Together with a veterinarian, he helped deliver four calves. "I only got in the car on Friday afternoon after finishing my chores in the barn and drove to Rogla. I had to skip the pre-race training."

That didn't stop Fisch from setting the fastest time in qualifying. In the knockout phase, he eliminated Elias Huber (+0,59), Benjamin Karl (+0,42), and Fabian Obmann (+0,33) in succession. Only in the final did Sangho Lee have the upper hand – or rather, the bigger glove.

Fischnaller's fourth podium finish of the season (with three wins) also propelled him to the lead in the giant slalom standings. With four races remaining, the top five are separated by just 57 points. Among them is Aaron March, who continues to lead the overall standings (541 points), 20 points ahead of Maurizio Bormolini, 40 ahead of Benjamin Karl, and 86 ahead of Fischnaller.

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First a midwife in the stable, then a hero in the World Cup

Roland Fischnaller is a unique figure in the South Tyrolean sports world. Now the snowboarder has written another curious chapter in his career.

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