Subject: Snowboard Grand Prix to Open This Weekend at Okemo

Date: Monday, December 11, 2000 9:41 AM

 

U.S. Snowboard Team News Bureau

http://www.ussnowboard.com

 

Monday, Dec. 11, 2000

Contact:: Scott Flanders, 801.557.2813

 

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CHEVY TRUCK U.S. SNOWBOARD GRAND PRIX TO OPEN THIS WEEKEND AT OKEMO

 

The ’01 Chevy Truck U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix season is set launch Dec.

15-17 at Okemo Mt. in Vermont as Shannon Dunn (Encinitas, CA) and

Canadian Jasey Jay Anderson will begin defense of their overall titles

and start their bid for another Chevy Truck (or a third in Dunn’s case).

However, competition will be stiff as $400,000 is up for grabs during

the season.

 

The weekend kicks off with superpipe qualifiers Friday. The superpipe

finals will be Saturday, as well as the Yahoo! Sports Big Air & Style

slopestyle. The event concludes Sunday with a giant slalom race.

 

The superpipe, which will be featured at all four Grand Prix sites this

year, will be cut and shaped by SuperDragon master Pat Malendoski.

Saturday’s slopestyle will be the first time that discipline has been

seen on the Grand Prix since the inception of the tour in ‘96.

 

For those competing or simply watching, make sure to wipe your nose

frequently for the cameras as the event will be televised nationally by

NBC Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. EST. The slopestyle will be covered by ESPN and

will air Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN2.

 

Visions of Dunn hanging out in the announcer’s area with an anxious look

on her face is what comes  to mind when looking back to last season’s

Grand Prix Finals/U.S. Snowboard Championships at Okemo Mt. Dunn had won

three Grand Prix pipe contests already and most figured she was a lock

for the overall title and new truck. However, someone figured out that

U.S. Snowboard Team rider Sondra Van Ert (Ketchum, ID) could rip the

crown from Dunn if she could win the snowboardcross on the last day of

competition. Van Ert cruised through to the finals, but ended up

finishing fourth, giving Dunn her breath back and her third straight

title.

 

It will be no lock for Dunn this season as last year’s younger pipe

riders have gained some experience and are stoked to knock off the big

dogs. U.S. Team member Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT), who recently signed

with Burton, is the reigning World Junior champion and took second in

the superpipe last year at Breckenridge. Gretchen Bleiler (Snowmass

Village, CO) was third at the ’00 nationals and snagged a fourth at the

Sierra Vans Triple Crown last season.

 

Several halfpipe veterans will also be shooting for the top podium spot.

Vermonter Kim Stacey (Stratton Mt., VT) really came on strong last year

to win the U.S. Championship at Okemo Mt., the Sims World Championships

at Whistler and the Mt. Seymour Triple Crown. U.S. Open vet Tricia

Byrnes (New Canaan, CT) won the season’s first Vans Triple Crown

superpipe event at Breckenridge, Colo. this past weekend and Barrett

Christy (Vail, CO), who was second, returns to action after being

sidelined by an injury last year.

 

In men’s superpipe, local hero Ross Powers (S. Londonderry, VT) has to

be considered one of the favorites. He has won just about every

respectable contest, including all three Triple Crowns and the Gravity

Games last year. U.S. Team rider Tommy Czeschin (Mammoth Lakes, CA) is

returning from a late-season knee injury and teammate Rob Kingwill

(Jackson, WY), last year’s Grand Prix halfpipe champion, is a crowd

favorite with his “Sato Flip,” an inverted 900. Ricky Bower (Park City,

UT) had an impressive training camp over the summer at Mt. Hood, so

watch for him in the superpipe as well.

 

Turning to the non-judged event, Anderson is again a threat coming into

the Okemo as he posted top-10 results in parallel World Cup races in

Austria this season. Chris Klug (Aspen, CO) enters Okemo as the reigning

U.S. giant slalom champion. Everyone’s pulling for Klug to do well in

this pre-Olympic season as he underwent a liver transplant this summer

after being diagnosed with a rare liver disease. U.S. Team athletes Jeff

Archibald (Salt Lake City), Jeff Greenwood (Hartford, CT) and Anton

Pogue (Hood River, OR) will also compete.

 

U.S. competitor Sondra Van Ert (Ketchum, ID), who won the Grand Prix

alpine title last season, will be challenged strongly in GS by Rosey

Fletcher (Girdwood, AK). Fletcher was the top American finisher in a

pair of World Cup parallel giant slaloms in Austria this season. Stacia

Hookom (Edwards, CO), Lisa Kosglow (Boise, ID), Erin O’Malley (Mammoth

Lakes, CA) and Lynn Ott (Bend, OR) are also looking to get on track in

preparation for the ’02 Olympics.

 

The Okemo Mt. Grand Prix is the first of four this year. The circuit

will also make stops at Breckenridge, Mammoth Mt., Calif. and Sunday

River, Maine.

 

- Best in the World! -