(Sportcom) – “It could have been a very different story,” said snowboarder Arnaud Gaudet, 14th in parallel slalom at the World Cup in Bad Gastein, Austria. A mistake at the head of the course and a slower course than his opponent’s led to his retirement on Tuesday.

The best qualifying drivers chose their racetrack for the elimination heats, which was a clear advantage as the results show.

Only three of the 16 duels were won on the red course. Of those three winners, two benefited from their opponent’s fall while the third won by a tenth of a second.

“With all the holes, it wasn’t easy to win on the red course,” said Gaudet, who had to experience first-hand in the first round. The Quebecer was eliminated by Austrian Alexander Payer, winner of the race, by a margin of 1.53s.

Gaudet intended to make a more direct start, crossing the first gates to generate speed thereafter. However, he fell behind and could not catch up.

“I tried to get back on my line and found myself in survival mode. I would have liked to have followed the original plan, but I deviated quickly and I’m disappointed,” he said.

size rival

Gold medalist in that event at the Winterberg World Cup in December, where Gaudet placed 28th, Payer was later defeated in the Grand Final by Italy’s Maurizio Bormolini.

The German Stefan Baumeister completed the podium with a 0.13-fold victory in the small final against the Austrian Fabian Obmann.

“Payer did well today and finished second. He was a tough opponent at the beginning. The key would have been to qualify a little higher and be able to choose my course,” said Gaudet, who was surprised by the famous red course in qualifying.

As one of the first to set off, he was unaware of the condition of the track.

“I had a great run. The snow was hard but changed drastically to soft, salty on the last four gates. It surprised me and I lost a lot of time because it was stoned. The other snowboarders saw me and were able to adapt,” he said.

Gaudet was the only Canadian to make the playoffs in Austria. On Wednesday he will be used again in the team parallel slalom.