Snowboard king Scotty James has dazzled to reign supreme in the last World Cup halfpipe event before the Olympics, where he'll be seeking an elusive gold medal.
On a big day for Australia's Olympic hopes, James sent a clear message to rivals as he won the prestigious Laax Open in Switzerland for a third consecutive time and fifth time in total, while young countryman Valentino Guseli was third.
The 31-year-old James scored 98.75 points for his spectacular second run to claim Saturday's victory ahead of Kiwi surprise packet Campbell Melville Ives (91.00) and Calgary World Cup winner Guseli (80.25) - the first Oceania podium sweep in FIS history.
As the last rider of the night and needing a score better than 91 points to better Melville Ives, James pulled out all the stops, finished off his winning run with a two-trick combination that had never been done in competition before.
The thumping win was a big boost for four-time Olympian James, who will be aiming to better the bronze medal he won in Pyeongchang 2018 and silver in Beijing in 2022 at next months Milan-Cortina Olympics.
He has kept a low profile in recent weeks as rivals shared World Cup wins.
"To put it down in my last run is a bit of a dream come true and feeling good so I just have to keep it up," said James.
"I've been working on some things and this year is a tough year. It's amazing competition.
"We had two Aussies and a Kiwi on the podium which is unbelievable. The Japanese are riding amazing so you've got to put your best foot forward this year to get a sniff of the podium ... I'm pumped.
"We are probably going to be in for one of the most exciting, thrilling and competitive Olympics in history amongst the whole field in the halfpipe .. I can't wait to go to battle with everyone."
In Germany, Bree Walker came close to becoming the first Australian to win a Crystal Globe as the season's top bobsledder.
The 33-year-old Walker took silver behind Kaillie Humphries in the final World Cup monobob race of the season in Altenberg to wrap up second place for the season.
It was just not quite enough to secure her the overall World Cup triumph, as German Laura Nolte took the seasonal crown by just 17 points.
In the last race before the Olympic showdown, Walker had to overturn earn a 27-point deficit on double world monobob champ Nolte to take the Crystal Globe.
She defeated the German, who finished third 0.06 seconds behind the Aussie after their two runs, but fell just short of leapfrogging Nolte in the final standings.
Humphries, America's reigning Olympic champion, won in a combined 1min 58.97sec for the two runs, 0.13sec ahead of Walker (1:59.10) and 0.19 quicker than Nolte.
The great news for Walker, though, is that she's in fine shape to attack for historic Olympic gold after the best World Cup season ever by an Australian sledder in which she won three races in Lillehammer, Sigulda and St Moritz.
Meanwhile, in the Chinese winter resort of Dongbeiya, Australian snowboard cross riders Josie Baff took silver in the women's final and Adam Lambert bronze in the men's event.
The pals from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains have now moved into top place in their World Cup standings, earning them the coveted yellow leader's bibs.
"It absolutely does feel like an honour," said Lambert. "Obviously just two races into the season anything can happen, but for now I will savour the feeling, and to do it at the same time as Josie, who was my neighbour for most of my childhood, is a special privilege."
Behind Britain's Charlotte Bankes in the big final, Baff grabbed silver in a blanket finish between the other three riders to take the 16th World Cup podium place of her career.
In the men's final, 28-year-old Lambert was able to earn an eighth World Cup podium as he finished behind Austrian Jakob Dusek and Canada's Eliot Grondin.
"This feels like the best form of my career ... of course, this gives me confidence going into the Olympic Games, but I need to stay grounded in the reality that I've got to work for every inch on the track. No freebies."
