Australia's latest snowboarding world champion says her training in often miserable weather in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains gave her the edge she needed to win her first World Cup gold this week.
Josie Baff, 19, won the open snowboard cross event in Les Deux Alpes in France on Sunday.
The 2020 Youth Olympic champion from Jindabyne is the second Australian woman to claim the top spot.
The breakthrough win means she will wear the yellow bib in the next round of the series in Italy.
"I am very overwhelmed," she said.
"I still can't believe this has happened."
From village to victory
Baff is part of a new generation of athletes with their sights set on the Winter Olympics in 2026.
The teenager qualified for the finals in fourth place in sunny conditions, before heavy wind and snowfall set in, delaying the competition by a day.
For the final, visibility was low and conditions were difficult.
She said her training in the Snowy Mountains provided an edge over other competitors who were not used to racing in poor weather.
"It was definitely very eventful, it was very, very windy," she said.
"When we train at Hotham, often the cloud comes over and just sits there, and that's exactly what the weather was like, maybe a bit more windy and a lot colder.
"I think Australia really prepares you for competing in all weather because you never know what you're going to get, and the winter is so short and so you take those days when you can — you ride no matter what the weather's like."
Milestone start to the season
Baff was in the top two for the first half of the final before and hitting the front to cross the line in first place.
"Coming down, when I was in the lead coming into the finish, I was thinking, 'Surely this isn't happening?'" she said.
Baff said she wasn't aware at the time just how precarious her lead was.
"It's very hard to hear and as soon as I go into race mode, I go into tunnel vision," she said.
The trophy came as a big surprise.
"I was hoping the day was coming, but I was not expecting it, especially not the first race of the season," she said.
The World Cup will go on hold for three weeks over Christmas and Baff will return to her family in Australia.
"I think that might be a little secret advantage for us this year, because the rest of the teams go back to winter Christmas, but we get some sun and I think that will be important," she said.
The only problem now is how to get her massive trophy home.
"It's a big heavy trophy, which is actually going to be quite hard!" she said.
