FIS Snowboard Cross Standings: Ulbricht and Bankes Reign as June Points Reset Introduces Sweeping Rule Changes

The 2026 FIS Snowboard Cross (SBX) season delivered a dramatic post-Olympic finale, but as the dust settles on the snow, the real shakeup is happening in the rulebook. With the publication of the annual FIS Base Points List in late June, the global standings have officially been reset for the 2026/2027 cycle.

The reset follows a fiercely contested winter that culminated at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec. Germany's Leon Ulbricht surged in the final weeks to capture the men's Crystal Globe, finishing with 435 points to narrowly edge out Australia's Adam Lambert, who posted 413 points.

On the women's side, Great Britain's Charlotte Bankes continued her reign, securing the women's Crystal Globe by fending off a relentless challenge from France's Chloe Trespeuch. The conclusion of the World Cup circuit marked the end of a grueling Olympic year, but the off-season has brought sweeping changes to how those hard-earned standings will be calculated moving forward.

During the FIS Technical Committee Spring Meetings in Portoroz, Slovenia, officials finalized a major overhaul to the points allocation system. Historically, athletes could occasionally bolster their global ranking by dominating smaller, regional events with shallow talent pools.

Under the newly ratified rules, events with fewer participating athletes will now offer proportionally fewer FIS points. This sliding scale is designed to ensure that the global standings more accurately reflect the true level of competition, rewarding riders who consistently perform against deep, international fields.

The change fundamentally alters the strategic landscape for the upcoming winter. Riders can no longer rely on localized Continental Cup races to easily farm the 100 FIS points historically required for premier event eligibility. Instead, they must seek out highly competitive brackets to maintain their seedings.[1]

Beyond the standings, the June reset brings a landmark shift in rider safety. The FIS has officially mandated that all World Cup athletes must wear cut-resistant underwear—encompassing both tops and pants—starting next season.

Snowboard cross is inherently chaotic, featuring four to six riders navigating jumps and berms simultaneously at highway speeds. Crashes frequently result in tangled equipment, and the razor-sharp metal edges of the snowboards pose a severe laceration risk. The new base layers utilize advanced technical fabrics to mitigate this danger.

The safety overhaul also includes the introduction of redesigned gate panels across the World Cup circuit, further reducing the risk of impact injuries during tight cornering. These mandates reflect a growing consensus across parallel disciplines—including Ski Cross, where Canada's Reece Howden recently claimed his fourth Crystal Globe—that high-contact racing requires modernized protection.[3]

As Northern Hemisphere athletes enter their summer dryland training blocks, the new points paradigm will face its first real-world test in the Southern Hemisphere. The Australia New Zealand Cup (ANC) and South American Cup (SAC) circuits kick off in August, drawing international fields eager to secure early-season points.[2]

For emerging riders like Canada's Evan Bichon, who captured bronze in the season finale, and Australia's Olympic medalist Josie Baff, the June reset offers a clean slate. As the 2026/2027 season approaches, the path to the top of the standings will be steeper, fairer, and significantly safer.