Xuetong claims season first snowboard WC win at Secret Garden

Chinese snowboarder Cai Xuetong bagged her first World Cup victory of the season here on Friday, winning the halfpipe title by 3.50 points ahead of second-placed Verena Rohrer of Switzerland.

The 2017 World Championship winner hit 88.75 in her first attempt, which was enough for her to seal the victory in Secret Garden that will serve as a venue for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games three years later.

Japanese Kurumi Imai scored 82.25 to win the bronze medal.

The men's title was won by Switzerland's Jan Scherrer, who scored 95.50 points in his second attempt, beating Japan's Ruka Hirano by 3.00. Another Japanese young talent Yuto Totsuka also finished on the podium just 0.25 points behind.

The slopestyle season also kicked off on Friday, and saw Japanese snowboarders dominate.

Miyabi Onitsuka and Reira Iwabuchi finished the top two in the women's actions while their compatriot Takeru Otsuka won the men's title.

France's Lucile Lefevre was third in the women's competitions. Niklas Mattsson of Sweden and Vlad Khadarin of Russia took the silver and bronze respectively in the men's competition.