25th anniversary

“Gastein is always like a surprise egg”

The slope on the Bucheben is one of the highlights on the calendar.

(Bild: Gasteinertal Tourismus GmbH, Stefan Lauterbach)

The Snowboard World Cup on the Buchebenwiese in Bad Gastein celebrates its 25th anniversary on Tuesday and Wednesday. The "Krone" looks back on special moments since the premiere.

From an emergency nail to a traditional race! Bad Gastein has become a permanent fixture in the Snowboard World Cup and is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the event on Tuesday and Wednesday. Reason enough for the "Krone" to take a look back:

In 2001, Bad Gastein only stepped into the breach as a substitute venue. Andreas Prommegger was already there on January 31st as a 20-year-old. For the man from Pongau, the classic is still something special this year: "Gastein is always like a surprise egg. Anything is possible, from qualifying to the podium, which makes it exciting." The form is certainly right: the 44-year-old finished third on the podium for the 70th time last weekend in the Swiss resort of Scuol.

In2002, Ursula Fingerlos took the only Austrian victory in this discipline in snowboard cross. In 2010, she was dropped from the program after ten races.

Claudia Riegler (left) and Andreas Prommegger celebrated victory in the team competition in 2021.

(Bild: GEPA)

Andi Prommegger won the team competition in 2024 with Sabine Schöffmann (right). ÖSV President Roswitha Stadlober joined in the celebrations.

(Bild: GEPA)

Siegfried Grabner was the first Austrian to win the parallel slalom in Bad Gastein in 2006.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Claudia Riegler celebrated an individual victory in Bad Gastein in 2019.

(Bild: GEPA)

Manuela Riegler (2nd from right) came third in the snowboard cross in 2006 and was also with teammates in the casino at the time.

(Bild: GEPA)

In2006, Siegfried Grabner was the first Red-White-Red to triumph in the parallel slalom. The Carinthian said after his success: "It's great that I finally made it onto the podium in Bad Gastein. Even better that it was a victory."

In2013, the event on the Bucheben was shaky. The main sponsor had pulled out the year before - 70,000 euros were missing. "It needs an act of violence," Salzburg's "Mr. Snowboard" Franz Weiss trembled at the time. Andi Prommegger took his only individual victory that year.

Data on the World Cup in Bad Gastein

100 floodlights with more than 2000 watts illuminate the Bucheben during the night spectacle.

78 races took place in Bad Gastein: 24 parallel slaloms each for women and men, 10 parallel slalom team competitions, 10 snowboard cross competitions each.

To date, Austria has won53 podium places at its home World Cup.

The34 degree slope gradient makes the Bucheben one of the steepest World Cup courses.

Switzerland's Patrizia Kummer took4 individual victories in the parallel slalom, making her the record winner.

In 2017, organizer Weiss said with a grin: "As long as Claudia Riegler is skiing, we'll keep going." In an interview with Die Krone ahead of the 2024/25 season, the now 51-year-old revealed that she also wants to tackle the 2026 Olympic Games. Good omens for the fans of the World Cup in Bad Gastein.

In 2019, the "Grande Dame" made her mark in the history books. At 45, Riegler became the oldest female winner in Bad Gastein.

Two Pongau residents won at home in2021. Due to coronavirus, however, there were no plans to hold the event at first. The welcome turnaround came before Christmas 2020: The World Cup took place after all, Riegler and Prommegger raced to first place in the team competition.

2022 was Austria's strongest year: Arvid Auner, Benjamin Karl and Alexander Payer claimed a triple victory. Daniela Ulbing won the women's event, Auner with Julia Dujmovits in the team competition.

In2024, Andreas Prommegger and Sabine Schöffmann, now Payer, once again put together the best team. This was the third victory in the team competition for the Salzburg native.