Jacobellis and Baumgartner Fifth at Feldberg

FELDBERG, Germany (Jan. 23, 2016) - Americans Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) both finished a solid fifth place at the Feldberg stop of the FIS Snowboardcross World Cup on Saturday. Teammate Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT) finished eighth.

It was a shorter, but still high-quality course, showcasing the new format of a sprint snowboardcross race. While there was challenging weather, the race remained exciting and full of tight passes.

Jacobellis, who had a strong second place finish in the Montafon World Cup in December, nailed a fifth place result. But U.S. Snowboarding head snowboardcross coach Peter Foley thinks she can up her game.

“Lindsey was in a really good position coming out of the turn and it looked like she was going to slingshot into second, but there was a an altercation in front of her and she had to veer around it to not hit them, so she wasn’t able to pass for second,” said Foley.  “The start sequence is difficult for Lindsey. She hasn’t gotten the very beginning feature as well as some of the other girls and it puts her at a disadvantage out of the start. But she has done well after that.”

Baumgartner’s fifth place was his best World Cup snowboardcross result since 2013, when he was third at Blue Mountain in Canada.

“There were some super bright spots. Hagen is ridging fast enough to win and so is Baum and so are Lindsey and Faye,” said Foley. “Those guys did pretty well today, but they can do better. They’re pretty excited to get after it tomorrow.”

Despite recovering from sickness, Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic won for the women, followed by Michela Moioli of Italy in second and Chloe Trespeuch of France in third. Nelly Moenne Loccoz of France was fourth, but still has hold of the overall World Cup lead. Jacobellis trails her in second place. Russian Nikolay Olyunin brought home the win for the men, while Pierre Vaultier of France was second and Alex Pullin of Austria third.

Rounding out the American finishers, Hagen Kearney (Telluride, CO) was 12th, Alex Deibold (Manchester Center, VT) 28th, Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, CO) 37th, Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, MA) 39th, Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) 40th, Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) 47th and Hunter Wilson (Draper, UT) 64th. Behind Jacobellis and Gulini, Rosina Mancari (Anchorage, AK) was 26th in the women’s race.

The snowboardcross World Cup continue tomorrow with the second race in Feldberg. Finals are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. (EST).

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner both grabbed fifth place finishes to lead the USA in Feldberg, Germany.
• It was Baumgartner’s best World Cup snowboardcross result since 2013, when he was third at Blue Mountain in Canada.
• Baumgartner sits in 14th in the World Cup overall, followed by Kearney in 15th.
• Jacobellis is second overall in the World Cup.
• Snowboardcross continues Sunday with a second race in Feldberg. Finals start at 6:30 p.m. (EST).

QUOTES

Peter Foley, Head Coach, snowboardcross
There were some super bright spots. Hagen is ridging fast enough to win and so is Baum and so are Lindsey and Faye. Those guys did pretty well today, but they can do better. They’re pretty excited to get after it tomorrow.

For those guys, it’s a matter of trying to clean up what they’re doing. Hagen is really strong on that start sequence and he and Baum were pretty much photo finish in the small final and big final for third place. They were the ones that were right there.

Lindsey was in really good position coming out of the turn and it looked like she was going to slingshot into second, but there was a an altercation in front of her and she had to veer around it to not hit them, so she wasn’t able to pass for second. The start sequence is difficult for Lindsey. She hasn’t gotten the very beginning feature as well as some of the other girls and it puts her at a disadvantage out of the start. But she has done well after that. That’s tough for her. It’s challenging.

RESULTS
Men’s snowboardcross
Women’s snowboardcross