CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine -- The first weekend of the $75,000 Bud Light
U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix events presented by Chevy S-10 Trucks ended Sunday
with a dramatic giant slalom victory for American veteran Lisa Kosglow (Boise,
ID) over Sondra Van Ert (Ketchum, ID) while Canadian Jasey-Jay Anderson routed
the men's field.
Anderson, the first-run leader on Sugarloaf/USA's Narrow Gauge racing trail,
was more than two seconds ahead of everyone on his second run to finish with
a combined time of 2:19.09. Ian Price (Manchester Center, VT) was second
in 2:23.38 with Tom Lyman (Whitefish, MT) third in 2:23.47.
"It's my Christmas present -- and it's a good one," Anderson said of his
$6,000 first-place money. "For the first year, I can buy some presents for
my family and friends."
Anderson's second run turned the men's event into a rout but he said the
strength of the field convinced him he couldn't play it safe on his final
run.
"I let it rip because a lot of people could have cuaght up to me," he said.
"I love this mountain; Sugarloaf's one of my favorite mountains. It's the
optimal carving mountain. The runs are nice and steep, really nice terrain,
good knolls and the snow's always firm .. this is one of the best mountains..."
Kosglow, 23 and also the first-run leader, finished with a two-run time of
2:37.52. Van Ert, double medalist at the 1996 FIS Grundig World Snowboard
Championships, finished in 2:27.80 with Betsy Shaw (E. Dorset, VT) third
in 2:38.33. In addition to $6,000 for first place, second prize was $4,500
with third place worth $3,500.
Kosglow, who won an American Snowboard Tour (non-World Cup) GS and slalom
earlier this month at Hunter Mountain, N.Y., broke her back and injured her
left knee at the U.S.at Stratton Mountain, Vt. last March. During
rehabilitation, she decided to return to competition.
"The accident was one of the best things that ever happened to my snowboarding
career. It really made me stop; I had to refocus, I had to decide whether
this is something I really wanted to do, whether I really wanted to sacrifice
my body now ... I decided the Olympics are close, and snowboarding's my life
and has been, and I was gonna just work myself and come back stronger."
Van Ert, 32, fourth after the first run, said she was ready to go home after
being on the road since early November with training camps and the World
Cup tour. "It's Christmas and all day I kept saying, 'Peter [Foley, U.S.
coach], tell me I can't go home today, that I still have a race, that it's
not over' ... In my second run, I just tried to stay aggressive..."
The $75,000 Bud Light U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix presented by Chevy S-10 Trucks
moves on to Snowmass, Colo., for the second set of GS and halfpipe events
Jan. 2-5. The Grand Prix was created to give American snowboarding officials
a basis for comparison in selecting the U.S. team which will compete at the
1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan when snowboarding makes its Olympic debut.
BUD LIGHT U.S. SNOWBOARD GRAND PRIX GIANT SLALOM
Men
1. Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canada, 2:19.09
2. Ian Price, Manchester Center, Vt., 2:23.38
3. Tom Lyman, Whitefish, Mont., 2:23.47
4. Mark Fawcett, Canada, 2:23.68
5. Mike Kildevaeld, Denmark, 2:24.00
6. Rob Berney, Whitefish, Mont., 2:24.04
7. Mike Jacoby, Hood River, Ore., 2:25.05
8. Adam Hostetter, Osterville, Mass., 2:27.50
9. Thomas O'Brien, Salt Lake City, 2:27.58
10. Jeremy Jones, Stowe, Vt., 2:27.81
Women
1. Lisa Kosglow, Boise, Idaho, 2:37.52
2. Sondra Van Ert, Ketchum, Idaho, 2:37.80
3. Betsy Shaw, E. Dorset, Vt., 2:38.33
4. Rosey Fletcher, Girdwood, Alaska, 2:38.62
5. Stacia Hookom, Edwards, Colo., 2:43.53
6. Leslee Olson, Bend, Ore., 2:43.83
7. Ivana Trudel, Canada, 2:45.19
8. Kim Stacey, Stratton Mountain, Vt., 2:47.27
9. Julie Rheaume, Canada, 2:47.89
10. Lynn Ott, Bend, Ore., 2:47.94
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