Charlotte Bankes has sealed her first Crystal Globe with snowboard cross World Cup gold in Reiteralm.
The world champion picked up her fourth win of the season in Austria, beating Italy’s 2016 Olympic champion Michela Moioli to the line.
The 26-year-old also left Canadian youngster Audrey McManiman and home favourite Pia Zerkhold in her wake in the big final.
Bankes had failed to make it past the quarter-finals at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing last month but has responded in fine style by being crowned the overall World Cup winner with the finals in Veysonnaz still to come.
“The Crystal Globe has always been a dream for me but I really didn’t know if I’d ever manage to get the consistency to be able to fight for it," said Bankes.
“With the start to the season I had, it became a goal and I’m just so happy and proud of what we’ve done as a team to achieve it certainly after the disappointment of the Olympics.
“Knowing I’ve secured the globe is amazing but I’ve still got a World Cup in Veysonnaz and I’m looking forward to another great battle with the girls to finish this amazing season.”
Bankes’ overall total of 569 points is now insurmountable with her closest challengers Moioli, 456 points, and France’s Chloe Trespeuch, 435 points, unable to make up the deficit of over 100.
On the day, Trespeuch, who won Olympic silver in China, had gone through in front of Bankes from the quarter-finals but she exited at the semi-final stage.
Bankes went on and despite Trespeuch doing her best to keep the crystal globe race alive by winning the small final, the Brit ensured there would be no nervous wait by putting herself out of reach.
She did not have it all her own way, however, as Austrian Zerkhold flew out of the blocks in the big final with Bankes settling in third.
But Bankes engineered a super pass by picking up significant speed on a turn to soar past old rival Moioli as well as Zerkhold and once in front she was not to be denied a famous victory.
Bankes follows in the footsteps of Katie Ormerod, her Team GB teammate in Beijing, who won the snowboard slopestyle Crystal Globe in the 2019/20 season.