site.btaSnowboarder Krashniak Ahead of Bansko World Cup Start: Runner-Up Finish In Bad Gastein a Surprise

Snowboarder Alexander Krashniak said his runner-up finish at the FIS Alpine Snowboard World Cup event in Bad Gastein surprised him as much as it surprised others, he told BTA on Friday.

Krashniak notched the best World Cup result of his career on Tuesday and later reflected on defeating Andreas Prommegger, whom he called one of the sport’s top competitors.

"I’m glad I surprised people, but to be honest I surprised myself as well. After my result in Davos, I believed I could deliver another strong performance and reach the finals, but I didn’t think I could beat a competitor like Andreas Prommegger, one of the best. It was a pleasant surprise," Krashniak said.

"After the final, Prommegger congratulated me. I’m sure we’ll see each other again. The other athletes reacted in different ways. Some took it well, others… even better. I think most of them were genuinely happy for me. I also talked to Maurizio Bormolini about his first podium finish ten years ago," he added.

"Before qualifying, I was highly motivated to show what I can do. But when the knockout stage began, I found a surge of energy from somewhere, and I honestly don’t even know where," Krashniak said.

Krashniak is set to compete on Saturday and Sunday in the two parallel giant slalom events at the FIS Alpine Snowboard World Cup in Bansko.

Alexander Krashniak is a Bulgarian alpine snowboarder who competes in the parallel disciplines (parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom). He achieved a major career breakthrough in January 2026 by winning silver in the Snowboard Alpine World Cup parallel slalom in Bad Gastein, his first World Cup podium, after progressing through the knockout rounds against elite opponents, including Andreas Prommegger, Aaron March and Stefan Baumeister. The result also secured Bulgaria an Olympic quota place for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. Earlier that month he finished second in a European Cup parallel giant slalom in Folgaria, and he had previously posted a strong fourth-place result at the Winter World University Games in Bardonecchia.