Sochi Winter Olympics Games profile #11: Jarryd Hughes, snowboard cross

ALEX "Chumpy" Pullin may be Australia's best chance of gold in Sochi, but a precocious Sydney schoolboy lurks as an outsider.

SNOWBOARDER Alex "Chumpy" Pullin may be Australia's best chance of gold in Sochi, but a precocious Sydney schoolboy lurks as the dangerous outsider.

Jarryd Hughes, 18, has stunned competitors this season, winning gold in his first World Cup final in snowboard cross and wearing the "yellow jersey" as the top-ranked competitor for a three-week period.

"I always thought of myself as trying to be in a position to be a bolter for gold - just doing my best at Sochi is still my goal,'' Hughes said from Aspen, where he's watching the X Games.

The role of "outsider" sits well with the rookie, who has struck up a close friendship with Australia's highest-profile Winter Olympian, Vancouver gold medallist Torah Bright, and is part of a group of snowboarders who have mysteriously started branding themselves on Twitter as "#teamoutcast".

Bright, who has operated outside the Olympic movement since basing herself in the US as a 13-year-old, is the undeclared ringleader of the group, which also includes outspoken Victorian Belle Brockhoff and half-pipe World Champion Scotty James.

"We have a secret handshake and a pretty crazy dance - we're just a bunch of like-minded athletes who help each other out,'' Hughes said.

"But we're trying to keep it low-profile.''

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Hughes was planning to compete in the X Games but said he decided to sit out after crashing in training.

"No injuries, but I'm thinking it's just a good idea to relax and get prepared for the Olympics,'' he said.

Hughes, who lives with his parents at Greenwich on Sydney's north shore, has been spending northern winters based in Colorado since he was 14.

At least one of his parents, Darren and Jennifer Hughes, travel to each of his snowboard cross events, spending about $25,000 over the past four years helping their son achieve his dreams.

His father was on hand when Hughes, a silver medallist at the world junior championships in 2012, scored his surprise World Cup victory at Lake Louise in Canada in December.

"We weren't expecting it so soon, especially after Jarryd had to have a knee reconstruction in the off-season,'' his father said.

Australia's Jarryd Hughes races during the men's World Cup snowboard cross event in Lake Louise, Canada.

Pullin, Australia's two-time world champion, crashed out in the first knockout round at Lake Louise after a collision with French veteran Pierre Vaultier.

While snowboard cross races are known for their unpredictability, Hughes showed great composure in his first final, overtaking the leader, Germany's Konstantin Schad, on a sweeping bend midway through the race.

Hughes said he originally took up the sport in primary school when a teacher at Sydney's International Grammar School was putting together a winter sports team and thought he "just looked like a snowboarder''.

"He has shown great progression," Olympic Winter Institute of Australia head snowboard coach Ben Wordsworth said.

"Both he and Chumpy are very fast ... we're looking forward to having two guys in the top-six final, and then it's anyone's race."

Twitter: @lehmannatlarge