Olympic Snowboarding Men's Cross 2022 TV Schedule, Live Stream and Picks

A new Olympic champion will be crowned in the men's snowboard cross Thursday morning.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Pierre Vaultier retired in the time between the Pyeongchang and Beijing Games. That opened up the chance for the third winner of the event to be named in China.

Vaultier and American Seth Wescott won consecutive titles in the first four iterations of the event on the Olympic level.

Austria's Alessandro Hammerle is the favorite this year, but he sits second in the FIS World Cup standings this season, and he took silver at the most recent World Championships in 2021. Reigning world champion Lucas Eguibar of Spain and World Cup leader Martin Norl will also be in the mix for the medals in what is one of the more open fields in Olympic snowboarding.

Men's Snowboard Cross Schedule

Seeding Run: Wednesday, 10:15 p.m. ET 

Round of 16: Thursday, 1 a.m. ET (Coverage starts on USA Network)

Quarterfinals: Thursday, 1:37 a.m. ET 

Semifinals: Thursday, 1:58 a.m. ET 

Final: Thursday, 2:15 a.m. ET 

Event can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.

Event Odds

Alessandro Hammerle: +400 (bet $100 to win $400)

Martin Norl: +500

Jakob Dusek: +500

Eliot Gronding: +700

Merlin Surget: +800

Glenn de Blois: +1000

Lucas Eguibar: +1500

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Preview

Martin Norl is the second-favorite, but he could be considered the snowboarder to beat. The German took over the lead in the FIS World Cup standings by winning three events in January, two of which occurred in Russia and the other came in Italy.

Norl is in great form and could make up for his eighth-place finish at the 2021 World Championships by taking gold in Beijing.

Hammerle produced mixed results in the buildup to the Games. He took second to Norl in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, in late January, but he also finished ninth and 19th in two races in Russia to start 2022. Hammerle's favorite status could be called into question because of those recent results and Norl's World Cup form.

The same could be said about Lucas Eguibar. The reigning world champion in snowboard cross did not finish inside the top 10 in either race in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, to start January and finished fifth in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

France's Merlin Surget and Austria's Jakob Dusek took second-place finishes in the two races in Russia, but neither competitor placed in the top five in Italy.

The inconsistencies of some top contenders make the snowboard cross hard to predict, but it may also make it one of the most thrilling events on the Olympic schedule. Most of the contenders are going after their first Olympic podium, and whoever handles the pressure the best may end up on top.

Picks: 1. Martin Norl (Germany), 2. Lucas Eguibar (Spain), 3. Alessandro Hammerle (Austria) 

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