Jeep King of the Mountain Goes to Austria

THURSDAY, 21 DECEMBER 2006

ZEL AM SEE, Salzburg, Austria - The next race of the Jeep® King of the Mountain (www.jeepsports.com) 2006-2007 Skiing & Snowboarding World Professional Championships may not take place until Jan. 20, but the buzz surrounding the event and the roster of athletes set to compete at Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun in Salzburg, Austria, is well underway.

On the heels of an electrifying season-opening race at Snowbird, Utah, which saw Winter Olympic snowboard-cross gold and silver medalists, Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis, captured titles in their rookie Jeep King of the Mountain campaigns, the action is expected to only get more intense when the event heads outside of North America for the first time in its illustrious 14-year history.

On hand Jan. 20 at Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun will be 12 of the world's elite snowboard athletes battling one another for the title of World Professional Champion and a share of the richest cash payout in the sport, topping $450,000 plus $20,000 in bonus cash from John Paul Mitchell Systems and the keys to a new 2007 Jeep Patriot.

To say the field will be an accomplished lot would be an understatement. Aside from National Championships, World Championships and World Cup titles, the line-up will include eight Winter Olympians who have pre-qualified as well as at least three Winter Olympians looking to earn a spot through the National Open Qualifier race on Jan. 19.

In the men's snowboarding standings, Farmington, Maine's Wescott currently holds the points lead, trailed by Canada's Drew Neilson, a 2006 Winter Olympian with six World Cup titles, a Continental Cup Championship, a and a slew of gold, silver and bronze medals from the Winter X Games. In third is Nate Holland, a 2006 Winter Olympian from Squaw Valley, Calif., who won the New Zealand National Championship. Other contenders in Zel am See-Kaprun will

include defending World Professional Champion Graham Watanabe of Park City, Utah, who raced in the 2006 Winter Olympics, and the notorious Shaun Palmer of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., who this season is competing in both the snowboarding and skiing competitions. Palmer's illustrious career includes five snowboard World Championships, Winter X Games and Gravity Games gold medals in skiing, super-cross designation in the sport of moto-cross, and a mountain biking World Championship. The loudest cheers are sure to be directed at Austria's Mario Fuchs, a 2006 Winter Olympian and Austrian National Champion.

"The field in Snowbird was tremendous," said Wescott. "Meeting Drew (Neilson) in the finals was a pleasure as he and I have been racing against one another since 1997 and I consider him on any given day one of the world's top three."

Through the extremely popular National Open Qualifier competition, a number of standouts are expected to try and gain entry in the World Professional Championships. Already, the list includes the runners-up to Wescott at the 2006 Winter Olympics, silver medalist Radoslav Zidek of Slovakia and bronze medalist Paul-Henri Delerue of France. Jeep King of the Mountain veteran Dieter Krassnig of Austria, a three-time Winter Olympian, is yet another favorite who may tap his vast experience to make a run at the title.

"I feel the field in Austria may be even deeper than what we had in Snowbird," said Wescott. "I expect a large turnout of European racers for the National Open Qualifier, and everyone will be fired up as the race takes place the week right after the World Championships."

In women's snowboarding, Stowe, Vt.'s Jacobellis will have to fend off a field as diverse as it is deep. On her heels is Julie Pomagalski of France, a Jeep King of the Mountain title winner last year who has amassed two French National Championships, a World Championship and nine World Cup titles in her career. And it's only a matter of time before Doresia Krings of Austria, a 2006 Winter Olympian and two-time defending World Professional Champion, makes her move to reclaim the crown. Adding to the intrigue in Zel am See-Kaprun will be the debut of Jacobellis' rival from the Torino, Italy games, gold medal winner Tanja Frieden of Switzerland. She will no doubt look to replicate the instant success of her American counterpart. Also in the hunt is Seattle, Wash.'s Marni Yamada, a member of the U.S. Snowboard Team, and the Open Qualifier candidates, many of who are members of the Austrian snowboard squad.

While the surroundings may be new to the athletes, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series' innovative Y-cross racecourse will again serve as a competitive factor. The course, which delivers high-speed excitement, requires equal parts instinct, patience and nerve from its challengers. For the first part of the course, two competitors must navigate the dual features section consisting of single and double rollers. Once through this section, the two courses converge into a single course, forming the approximate shape of a Y. The second section features terrain characteristics of snowboard-cross racing, including banked turns, jumps, and tabletops. Athletes must be able to "work" the terrain features in order to generate extra speed, use techniques such as NASCAR-style drafting, and feel comfortable with another racer literally breathing down their neck.

"This was my first time to race on the Y-cross, and I liked it very much," said Wescott. "I started my race career in ISF and FIS, which has four to six racers on the course at one time, so it was a nice change of pace to get into head-to-head racing with just one other athlete. It allows you to focus more on the line and creation of speed instead of everything going crazy around you."

The snowboard exclusive race at Europa-Sportregion Zell am See-Kaprun will air on Feb. 17, 2007, from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. on CBS Sports. Next, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series heads to Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico for a ski-only race. The season's grand finale, set for March 3, 2007 at Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado, will feature both snowboard and ski racing. Each race of the 2006-2007 Skiing & Snowboarding World Professional Championships will air on CBS Sports, with additional broadcast coverage on nationally syndicated television.