site.btaSnowboarder Yankov: Bulgaria Having Two Representatives in Top 8 Is Great Achievement

The highest ranked Bulgarian snowboarder Radoslav Yankov said he was not satisfied with his fifth place in the first parallel giant slalom competition at the FIS Snowboard World Cup in Bansko on Saturday, but stressed that the country having two representatives in the top 8 is a great achievement. 

The 34-year-old, who is the only Bulgarian with a World Cup win in snowboarding, was second after qualifying but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by his 19-year-old national team teammate Tervel Zamfirov.

"I seem to have stucked at that fifth place. I am not happy with my performance. Tervel rode very well, congratulations to him, but I did not ride the way I could have. The conditions were great and I should have taken advantage, but I made a mistake in the last part. I broke my rhythm and things went backwards from there," said Yankov.

"On one hand, it hurts more to lose to a teammate. On the other - less. I am happy for him. It is a very big success. We have two Bulgarians in the top 8, which is a great achievement. But when you fight, you are by yourself and you want to achieve the best result. We did not talk before the start. We do not often ride against each other, but look at a big team like the Italian team - they face each other a hundred times," added the No.3 in FIS World Cup overall standings.

"Today there were a lot of people, I hope tomorrow there will be even more. The atmosphere was great, the organization was great, thank you to the crowd," Yankov added.

"FI have no expectations for tomorrow's start. But I think we are already seeing the results of what we are all doing. I put myself in that. The work that is being done by the national team, by the Federation, by the organization that has been set up - it is not just these four guys anymore, there is a lot of young talent. I hope others will soon break into the world elite," Yankov concluded.