Jeep King of the Mountain Continues March 2-3

WEDNESDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2007

TELLURIDE, Colo. - From the World Cup circuit and Winter X Games to the heralded Winter Olympics, American ski and snowboard racers have stood apart from the competition to gain headlines and grab more than their fair share of gold, silver and bronze hardware on the podium. This storyline is holding true for professional snow sports' most prestigious event, the Jeep® King of the Mountain Series, where U.S. standouts Nate Holland, Lindsey Jacobellis and Casey Puckett will pursue the season-long title of World Professional Champion on March 2-3 at Colorado's Telluride Ski Resort.

The stakes couldn't be higher in Telluride, where 24 premier athletes, including Winter Olympians, World Champions and National Champions, will battle head to head for a share of the event's record cash of $450,000 plus $20,000 in bonus cash from John Paul Mitchell Systems and the keys to a new 2007 Jeep Patriot. Most importantly, at the end of the competition new World Professional Champions will be crowned. Point totals at the final race will be doubled, meaning that numerous racers have the opportunity to earn the ultimate title.

With news that 2006 Winter Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott had injured himself at the recent FIS World Cup race at Furano, Japan, the men's snowboarding competition took on a decidedly different look. Wescott had won each of the first two races of the season in Snowbird, Utah and Beaver Creek, Colo., but his absence in Telluride has created an opening for Squaw Valley, Calif.'s Holland, a 2006 Winter Olympian and recent Winter X Games gold medalist, to grab professional snow sports' most coveted honor.

Holland will find himself in the company of many challengers, including third-ranked Drew Neilson of Canada, a 2006 Winter Olympian with six World Cup titles, a Continental Cup Championship, and a slew of gold, silver and bronze medals from the Winter X Games. Right behind the pair is defending World Professional Champion and 2006 Winter Olympian Graham Watanabe of Park City, Utah, and Mario Fuchs of Austria, a 2006 Winter Olympian and Austrian National Champion. The event's newest addition, World Cup titlist and 2006 Winter Olympian Jason Smith of Durango, Colo., will make the competition that much more intense.

In women's snowboarding, Stratton Mountain, Vt.'s Jacobellis will have to fend off a field as diverse as it is deep. She won the first two races of the season, but with double points at stake in Telluride, there's little margin for error. On her heels in second place is Julie Pomagalski of France, who has amassed two French National Championships, a World Championship and nine World Cup titles in her career. Other notables include Doresia Krings of Austria, a 2006 Winter Olympian and two-time defending World Professional Champion, Tanja Frieden of Switzerland, the snowboard-cross gold medalist from the 2006 Winter Olympics, and Seattle, Wash.'s Marni Yamada, a member of the U.S. Snowboard Team. The roster is rounded out by Joanie Anderson of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., who just nipped Jacobellis at the finish line in Aspen, Colo,, to earn the Winter X Games gold medal.

In men's skiing, Aspen, Colo.'s Puckett, the defending World Professional Champion and a four-time Olympian, sits on top of the standings. Behind him is Lars Lewen of Sweden, a U.S. Freeskiing Champion and two-time gold medalist at the Winter X Games. A three-way tie for third place includes Jake Fiala of Frisco, Colo., a Winter Olympian an U.S. National Champion, Enak Gavaggio of France, winner of six World Cup titles, a Winter X Games gold medal and four International Free Skiers Association World Championships, and Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic, who has earned a World Championship and two World Cup Championships in the past two years.

The women's ski competition is equally as intriguing. Ophelie David of France, the seven-time World Cup titlist, three-time World Champion and French National Champion has won both events thus far and seems primed to repeat as World Professional Champion. Behind her are three racers tied for second, including Canadian Anik Demers of Truckee, Calif., a Winter X Games gold medalist, Magdalena Iljans of Sweden, a six-time World Cup titlist and Brett Buckles of Steamboat Springs, Colo., a Gravity Game gold medalist and North American Freeskiing Champion.

Racing against top rivals in front of thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers is challenge enough. Add in the Jeep King of the Mountain Series' innovative Y-cross racecourse and the result is one of the most exciting race settings in the industry. 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. Ski racer Tomas Kraus has been selected to put his personal touch on the Y-cross racecourse as part of the Jeep King of the Mountain Series' "competitor inspired" racecourse design program, which allows the racers to hand-select the layout and technical elements most desired by the athletes themselves.

World Professional Champions are determined based on points accrued during six races spanning from December 2006 through March 2007. Previous races have taken place at Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in Utah, Beaver Creek Resort in Colo. and Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico.

The grand finale from Telluride will air on March 24 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. and March 25 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. on CBS Sports. Each race of the 2006-2007 Skiing & Snowboarding World Professional Championships airs on CBS Sports, with additional broadcast coverage on nationally syndicated television.

About the Jeep King of the Mountain Series
The Jeep King of the Mountain was established in 1993. Jeep is the title sponsor for the Jeep King of the Mountain Series. The Professional Skiing & Snowboarding World Championships are the sister competition to summertime's Jeep King of the Mountain World Professional Mountain Biking Championships. Other marketing partners for the Jeep King of the Mountain include Bern Helmets, Columbia Sportswear Company, Edge ActiveCare, Infinity Systems, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Michelin, Mopar, Rossignol, Ski Press Magazine, Sprint, Telluride Mountain Village and Telluride Ski Resort. Based on their points accrued during the season skiers Casey Puckett and Ophelie David and snowboarders Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis will wear the coveted John Paul Mitchell Systems black leader's bibs in Telluride.