Aspen, CO – Nate Holland, Nick Baumgartner and Jayson Hale led U.S. Snowboarding to a clean sweep of the men’s snowboardcross podium at Winter X Games, held Saturday in Aspen. Alex Deibold (Manchester Center, VT) was next in fourth, demonstrating the depth of the U.S. team.

Holland’s time of 1:27.57 was a commanding half second ahead of Baumgartner’s 1:28.01 to take his fifth X Games snowboardcross gold.

“It always feels great to be on top. I knew I just had to ride my heart out and back my words up and I was able to do that. I am fired up to be back on top,” said an excited Holland, who currently calls Squaw Valley, Calif. home. “I was able to catch up to Stian (Sivertzen, Norway) but I wasn’t able to pass him. Then Pierre Vaultier came up and I knew it was going to be a battle. We went in the next turn and Stian went down and I made it out of the carnage.  It was so beautiful to see the finish line without Nick Baumgartner in front of me.”

Baumgartner, of Iron River, Mich., had hoped to repeat his gold medal success from 2011 but had to settle for silver.

“I was doing everything I could to hang on and get myself in position where if something should happen I could capitalize on it. It wasn’t the way I wanted to get second, but I will take it,” he said.

Third-place finisher Hale, of Sierraville, Calif., earned his second X Games medal after he earned bronze in 2006.

“It was my typical X Games race, always scrapping from the back and passing hoping to get up front,” explained Hale.  “Scrapping and passing and finally drafting. I am stoked to be on the podium with these boys.  Nate and I haven’t been on a podium together since 2006, so it feels pretty good to be back up here.”

On the women’s side, Stratton Mountain, Vt.’s Lindsey Jacobellis tore the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) in her knee two days before the event and was not able to defend her title, breaking her streak at four consecutive wins. Canadian rider Dominque Maltais dominated Saturday’s event as the fastest rider in the each of the preliminary rounds. When the finals came around it was no different, as she pulled away from the pack to capture her first Winter X Games gold medal.

“I am really happy,” an emotional Maltais said. “I was really looking forward to winning this year.  I have been racing really well on the World Cup circuit and I was being positive about this competition.  I didn’t look back until the end of the race and I was really surprised when I saw that I was so far in front.  I was really happy to win and it was a good race.”

The pride of Bulgaria, Alexandra Jekova, won the silver medal. The medal is the first Winter X Games medal for her country.

“I am really happy that I can bring home this medal,” the Sofia native said.  “I hope that people there are going to appreciate it like I do.  It was a tough race and I did my best to catch Dominique but she was hard to catch.  I am really happy and looking forward to getting better. ”

Canadian Maelle Ricker rounded out the medalists, finishing third.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Winter X Games
Buttermilk Mountain – Aspen, Colo. – Jan. 28, 2012
Snowboardcross

Men:

Women: