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Yekaterina Ilyukhina in action at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.
Just a week after the Olympics ended in Vancouver, Russia’s snowboarding team, including 2010 Olympic silver medalist Yekaterina Ilyukhina, will compete in Moscow at the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup on March 6.
Some of the best snowboarders in the world, including men’s silver medalist in parallel giant slalom Benjamin Carl from Austria, will take part. Ilyukhina won the silver in women’s parallel giant slalom.
Russian female snowboarders are some of the strongest in the world and have won three of the six World Cup events this year.
For the first time in the history of the LG FIS Snowboard World Cup, the parallel slalom competition will take place on an artificial, outdoor ramp, said Pyotr Parkhitko, press manager for the Russian Alpine Ski and Snowboard Federation.
The ramp has been constructed specially for the competition at Vorobyovy Gory, or “Sparrow Hills,” in southern Moscow. It is 60 meters high, 35 meters wide and provides a slope length of 200 meters. Made of steel, it weighs 1,300 tons.
Parallel slalom is one of the most grueling snowboarding events, with snowboarders racing side-by-side down two parallel courses. Parallel giant slalom was first introduced to the Olympics at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City.
The LG FIS Snowboard World Cup 2010 will be held March 6 at 7 p.m. Moscow City Children’s Palace. 17 Ulitsa Kosygina. Metro Vorobyovy Gory. Tel. 939-8197. Entrance is free.
