Grondin’s gold clinches first career Crystal Globe

For the first time in his career, Eliot Grondin is a Crystal Globe winner thanks to a dominant season in snowboard cross.

Although there still remains a race on Sunday, Grondin has already secured the top spot in the World Cup standings for the 2023-24 season thanks to a gold medal close to home at the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.

Fittingly, the Quebec native grew up just an hour from where he was crowned World Cup champion for the first time.

“Winning at home is the best feeling. Winning in Europe is good, but winning in front of my family and my friends who support me is an incredible feeling,” said Grondin after the final.

Grondin raced to the top spot in the qualifying round, and in the final, finished in first place, beating out Australia’s Cameron Bolton and Czech Republic’s Radek Houser.

With the podium placement, Grondin extends his medal streak to nine straight races. It’s his sixth gold medal of the season, a new career-high.

Countrymate Evan Bichon finished in fourth.

READ: Grondin tops podium at World Cup in St. Moritz

Grondin’s gold is icing on the cake for the 22-year-old, as he maintained a sizeable lead in the standings throughout the season. He now has a distance of 364 points between him and second place, Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria.

The men’s and women’s snowboard cross season concludes tomorrow in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec.