Damon Hayler and Alex Pullin kicked off their qualifying rounds for the 2008 season today in Bad Gastein, Austria.

Pullin put in a successful first run, positioning him in 19th place, giving him the confidence to push for a higher placing in his second run. Unfortunately, the 19-year-old Mt Buller rider dropped back in his qualifying result after the second run as some of the top riders increased their times, pushing him back to 25th place.

That was still good enough to deliver a place in the head-to head finals round tomorrow.

Hayler, unfortunately, fell in his first run on the slushy course and was unable to pull back into a top 32 placing on his second run, and he will now focus on the X Games next week in Colorado.

Courtesy OWI/Sportcom