Bansko, Bulgaria—The FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup moves east this weekend, staging twin parallel giant-slalom races on 17-18 January in the Pirin Mountains. It is only the fifth time the resort has hosted World Cup starts since 2017.
Bansko Builds Icy Giant-Slalom Course for Weekend Races
Crews finished injecting the 400-metre vertical Piste 1 at midnight Thursday, producing the hard surface the discipline demands. Saturday qualifying starts at 09:00 local (08:00 CET) and finals begin at 13:00; Sunday’s schedule starts 15 minutes earlier to avoid forecast afternoon clouds. Riders describe the slope as “technically greedy”: a blind rolloff after the start ramp, a mid-section side-hill that punishes late edge sets, and a final pitch where speeds exceed 65 km/h.
Bulgarian Men Target First Home-Nation Podium
Local hopes rest on Tervel Zamfirov, 25, the reigning world champion who has yet to reach a World Cup podium. Sixth in Scuol this season and fourth here last February, Zamfirov spent the off-week on a private 200-metre indoor ramp in Sofia, drilling fore-aft pressure. “A podium in front of the home flags would repay every 5 a.m. bus ride my parents took to get me to training,” he said Thursday. Veteran Radoslav Yankov, winner of the 2018 Bansko race, owns three career podiums on the same slope. Alexander Krashniak arrives after a career-best second in Bad Gastein on Tuesday.
Italian Men Aim to Keep Win Streak Alive
Italy’s men have won six of seven races this season. Aaron March leads the standings with 480 points, trailed by Maurizio Bormolini (445). Both use a wider stance setback introduced over the summer, a change that has paid off on flatter European tracks. Swiss rider Dario Caviezel, twice a Bansko winner, sits 110 points behind March and realistically needs a victory to stay in the overall fight.
Zamfirova, 16, Tops List of Women’s Dark Horses
Malen Zamfirova already owns six top-tens and a podium at Mylin. She will face defending overall champion Tsubaki Miki, still winless in 2026, and Germany’s Ramona Theresia Hofmeister, back after bruising her knee in December. Italy’s Elisa Caffont leads the women’s rankings; teammates Lucia Dalmasso and Jasmin Coratti, third in Tuesday’s team event, are close behind.
Olympic Test for Riders Six Weeks Before Milano-Cortina
With the Milano-Cortina Games six weeks away, riders view Bansko as the final high-pressure rehearsal. Dutch boarder Michelle Dekker, third in Tuesday’s slalom, calls the GS course “same speed, bigger turns—perfect simulation for February.” Austria’s Sabine Payer, nursing an ankle sprain, will skip Bulgaria to save starts for next week’s home race at Simonhöhe.
Tips for Spectators and Competitors
- Arrive before 08:00 to claim one of 3,500 free hillside grandstand spots.
- Download the FIS app; live GPS timing updates every split.
- Bring crampons; the access track to the finish corral averages 12° and ices quickly.
- Riders: enter the official wax test window (06:30-07:00) to inspect fresh snow crystals.