Matt carves path to world success

Dural snowboarder Matt Thomas has continued on an upward slope on the international circuit, making his World Cup debut earlier this month.

Matt Thomas (front) during his heat at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Montafon. Picture: Miha Matavz

Dural snowboarder Matt Thomas has continued on an upward slope on the international circuit, making his World Cup debut earlier this month.

Thomas competed in the first two races of the Europa Cup series in Austria at the start of December, with strong results in race two at Pitztal.

The 2014 Junior World Championships gold medallist came fourth against 128 international riders, many of whom were Olympians or experienced World Cup competitors.

“I honestly didn’t believe that I had the ability to pull a result like that,” Thomas said.

“In every heat, at least one rider was a current World Cup athlete or had been to the Olympics.”

Matt Thomas (front) during his heat at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Montafon. Picture: Miha Matavz

Thomas’s results earnt him an invitation to his first World Cup, at Montafon in Austria, held from December 11-13.

He qualified 29th out of 69 riders in the men’s snowboard cross, which put him through to the heats where he competed against former world champion Markus Shairer, and last year’s World Cup series winner Lucas Eguibar.

Thomas, a NSW Institute of Sport rider, had a good run but missed his last move and finished 22nd overall – an impressive result for a World Cup debut.

“We overheard the US coach consoling one of his riders saying, ‘don’t be too hard on yourself – no one ever qualifies in their first World Cup’,” his dad Mark Thomas said.

“Matt and I just smiled.”

Competing in the World Cup has put Thomas on track for his goal of qualifying for the Olympics.

“For me, it’s a huge milestone in my life,” Thomas said.

“It means that I’m one step closer to qualifying for the Australian Olympic team, which has been the No.1 priority on this journey.”

Thomas has been training for the international season since May, working on his foundation strength and conditioning, and training with Alex “Chumpy” Pullin.