NOKIA Snowboard FIS World Cup 1999/2000: GS Park City (USA)
Park City/Utah (USA). Due to unfavourable weather conditions it has been a long day today on ‘CB’s run’ in the Park City Mountain Resort where the seventh Giant Slalom of the 1999/2000 NOKIA Snowboard FIS World Cup was carried out today. Austria’s Dieter Krassnig and Margherita Parini from Italy claimed the gold on the slope where the Parallel Giant Slalom will be held during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
The conditions at the ‘Eagle Race Arena’ have not been easy when the Giant Slalom riders checked out the Olympic slope today. After a curious first run this morning when seven of the 15 top ranked GS riders have dropped out , most of them in the upper steep section of the course, the weather turned bad with some rain and snowfall that caused a two hours delay for the start of the second run. Dieter Krassnig from Austria who has been ranked fifth this morning closed the gap in the second run and claimed his first win after two years. ‘It’s just great and I wished the season would have started right now,’ he said. ‘After a bad start into the season it looks like I’m there now. I made a little mistake in the first run and just kept going although I didn’t expect to end up with a top result anymore but it went pretty well in the second. Usually I am doing much better in Slalom but it’s also working in GS now – I really whished the season would go on for more than the two races left.’ Markus Ebner from Germany has been leading after the first run and finally got second. ‘I’m really happy,’ the reigning GS World Champion said, ‘I had a perfect run this morning and when the weather got so bad I feared that it was in vain. It has not been easy but all in all it was ok. My goal was to make it to the podium today. It looks like I get it to work again now.’ Frenchman Nicolas Huet made it to third and was elated. ‘I didn’t do very well in the flat part so I know, where I lost some time,’ he said, ‘I haven’t be far from a win sometimes… I’m really happy being third since I haven’t done well all year until last week in Nagano, but I have never won a GS in my life and that’s what I like to work on now.
Stefan Kaltsch¦tz from Austria finished fourth today. Since NOKIA World team rider Matthieu Bozzetto from France, his strongest rival for the Giant Slalom World Cup, dropped out in the first run, Kaltsch¦tz is already safe for the globe. ‘When I had this bad crash earlier this season I feared that the title was gone,’ he said, ‘but I had the good luck on my side also…’ Unlucky bird Bozzetto did not make it to the second run for the third time in a row and was more than disappointed: ‘In France we say ‘never two but three’ so it should at least stop after this but this doesn’t help, the World Cup title is gone. However, I will put everything into the last race to make it to the podium.’ Right now he is still in second ahead of Canadian Jasey Jay Anderson who went 34th today.
Margherita Parini from Italy claimed the win in the women’s race, like she had also done here last year. ‘It’s a very nice course,’ she said, ‘very technical, but I need to focus more on parallel racing now since this is the one held at the Olympics…’ Julie Pomagalski from France went in second place, her best GS result so far. ‘I was really upset when I have ended up fourth in the Snowboard Cross two days ago,’ she stated, ‘but this was kind of a revenge today although the Giant Slalom is not my first choice.’ Germany’s Heidi Renoth took the bronze and felt obviously relieved: ‘I have been waiting for this for quite a time now and it really feels good that I made it to the podium again after a while.’
Parini still keeps the lead in the World Cup ahead of Manuela Riegler from Austria who finished seventh today. Sweden’s Aasa Windahl took 14th today but still stays in third overall.
With today’s check of the Olympic slope the Countdown to Gold was concluded now as far as Snowboarding is concerned. The riders head back to Europe now for the last two stages taking place in Italy.
For further information: Media Centre Park City (Britta Semmler & Melissa O’Brien)
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