Telluride, CO – Two-time Olympic champion Seth Wescott, of Carrabassett Valley, Maine, leads a strong U.S. Snowboarding squad into this week’s USANA Snowboardcross Cup at Telluride, the opening SBX event in the LGS FIS Snowboard World Cup. Over 20 U.S. snowboarders, including seven-time X Games champion Lindsey Jacobellis, of Stratton Mountain, Vt., and Squaw Valley, Calif.’s six-time X Games titlist Nate Holland will be in the field with the USA looking for its first win at Telluride since the Colorado ski resort’s stop on the World Cup circuit is now in its third year.
“It’s always interesting to see who emerges as fast at the start of a a new year,” said U.S. Snowboarding head coach, Peter Foley. “These athletes have not raced each other since March. You have to think that Vaultier (Pierre Vaultier of France, last year’s Telluride winner) and Chumpy (Alex Pullin of Australia, third last year) will be fast again.”
Other U.S. male riders to watch include Nick Baumgartner of Iron River, Mich., the reigning X Games Champion who finished sixth in 2011 FIS World Cup SBX, was top-six ranked four of last five years, has won seven World Cup podiums with seven wins, and was named Rookie of Year in a summer truck racing series; Jonathan Cheever of Saugus, Mass., the reigning U.S. Champion and third in the 2011 FIS World Cup standings; and Graham Watanabe of Sun Valley, Idaho, who has scored five World Cup podiums with two wins. On the women’s side, in addition to Jacobellis keep an eye on
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof of Anchorage, Alaska, who finished fifth in 2011 FIS World Cup SBX. But they’ll have to watch out for Canada’s Dominique Maltais, the two-time and reigning FIS World Cup SBX champion who has five World Cup wins to her credit including last December in Telluride, and Alexandra Jekova of Bulgaria, second in 2011 FIS World Cup SBX who has two World Cup wins under her belt.
This week’s competition also marks the third year for Team SBX at Telluride, a new event for snowboarding which has been pioneered globally by U.S. Snowboarding. This format pits four-man teams from each nation againast each other.
“We’ll be racing six-man SBX, which I believe results in much more of a dynamic race than four-man,” explained Holland. “The course is big with a lot of touch and go airs, perfect for passing and jockeying for position.”
The U.S. riders are coming off a 10-day on-snow camp at Telluride on a full-length, training course meticulously prepared by noted designer Jeff Ihaksi, a key component in the potential for success of U.S. snowboarders at the event.
“I’ve never seen our team more fit and riding at such a high level for this time of year. I would really like to see that translate into us being on top of the podium,” added Foley. “Our Telluride camp was amazing. Really the best camp we’ve ever had, with two different courses to work on different skills. We trained hard for six days and then took a three-day break leading into the World Cup. The amount of effort and skill that Telluride put into making us a training venue is unprecedented. It’s the most valuable training we get every season.”
“After an amazing camp in Telluride which included two different training courses the whole U.S. Snowboarding SBX Team is up to speed for the season,” noted Holland. “Telluride really rolls out the red carpet for us while were here, it’s starting to feel like a second home in December. I’m personally looking to start my season with a win, and would love to see a U.S. Snowboarding sweep of the podium, it’s truly possible, now we just have to execute.”
USANA Snowboardcross Cup will kickoff with opening parallel giant slalom World Cup Thursday. NBC Sports will broadcast the competition on New Year’s Eve at 5:00 p.m. ET.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Dec. 14
11:15 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. – SBX qualification
Thursday, Dec. 15
9:00-11:00 a.m. – PGS qualification
1:00-3:00 p.m. – PGS Finals
Friday, Dec. 16
12:00-1:15 p.m. – SBX Finals
Saturday, Dec. 17
12:00-1:15 p.m. – Team SBX Finals