Two medals down, one more to go in the snowboard cross competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with the mixed team event taking center stage at Genting Snow Park on Saturday morning.

A thrilling show with four riders hitting the course at the same time and jostling for space over repeated bumps and tight turns, snowboard cross already anointed a new queen and king in recent days: Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. and Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle.

In the mixed team event, which celebrates its Olympic debut this year, countries will go toe to toe with one male and one female snowboarder per team.

The race will include a series of heats, with the two best teams in each heat advancing to the next, culminating in a final race where anything can happen.

In total, 15 teams are due to start in Saturday's competition, with several countries fielding more than one team, including Canada, France, Italy, the U.S. and Australia.

Newly crowned Olympic champions Jacobellis and Haemmerle will get another shot at gold in separate U.S. and Austrian pairings.

But the biggest threat might come from Canada 1, whose Eliot Grondin and Meryete Odine just won Olympic silver and bronze this week.

Italy 1, featuring new Olympic bronze medallist Omar Visintin and 2018 Olympic champion Michela Moioli, will also be among the favorites, as will France 1 with women's silver medalist Chloe Trespeuch and teammate Merlin Surget.

Australia are the reigning world champions in the event, while Italy won the most recent World Cup race in Montafon, Austria in December.

What is certain is that it will be an edge-of-your-seat race with plenty of dramatic photo finishes, and history will again be made as one pair is crowned the first ever Olympic champions in snowboard cross mixed team. 

(Reporting from Zhangjiakou)