Deibold and Jacobellis Podium at Solitude
SOLITUDE, UT (Jan. 21, 2017) – It was a battle with Mother Nature as well as a battle on the snowboardcross course this weekend at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Solitude Mountain Resort. Alex Deibold (Boulder, CO) and Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton, VT) overcame challenging conditions to score podium finishes for the U.S., each taking third place in the big finals.
While inches of fluffy white snow poured from the sky, the course built by Nick Roma remained fast and challenging—the perfect setting to feature the fastest snowboarders on the planet. However, the conditions also hindered the race from starting on time, as Big Cottonwood Canyon—the canyon that connects Salt Lake City to Solitude—continued to close due to the thick snow and capture athletes in a long wait to reach the resort.
Lindsey Jacobellis leads her heat. (U.S. Snowboarding)
But the snow didn’t seem to affect 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Deibold. “It was really challenging conditions with all the new snowfall,” he said after the race. “But if history shows anything, I tend to do well in adverse weather, growing up in New England. More than anything, I think the snow kind of brought the pressure down a little bit—it seemed a little less tense up there.” It was Deibold’s fourth World Cup podium. Alessandro Haemmerle of Austria won, while Italy’s Omar Visintin was second. Deibold fought off teammate Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA), who finished fourth.
Jacobellis added her 45th World Cup podium to her impressive resume. “Today my starts were a lot better than they have been in the past,” she said. “There was just a lot of headwind and a lot of things to deal with coming into those first couple of features. I took a really nice clean line in bank turn five…I wanted to build some speed and make a move in turn six.” Jacobellis was joined on the podium by winner Eva Samoka of the Czech Republic and second place finisher Michela Moioli of Italy.
Alex Deibold celebrates his third place finish. (U.S. Snowboarding)
Also making the final brackets for the U.S. in snowboardcross at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix: Rosie Mancari (Anchorage, AK) won the small final, finishing seventh; Faye Gulini (Salt Lake City, UT) and Hagen Kearney (Telluride, CO) were ninth; Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) had his best finish since March of 2013, taking 10th.
Solitude is an elite venue for both the 2017 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and the 2019 World Championships. This week’s event is the first international event staged at the Utah resort, and serves as the official test event for the World Championships.
Action continues from Solitude on Sunday with the snowboardcross team event, scheduled to start at noon MST.
BROADCAST & LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
(Schedule subject to change)
*live streaming is available on nbcsports.com/live or via the NBC Sports App
Sunday, Jan. 22
3:00 p.m. Men’s and women’s snowboardcross (NBC)
5:30 p.m. Men’s and women’s snowboardcross (NBCSN)
Saturday, Jan. 28
1:00 p.m. Team snowboardcross and skicross (NBC)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Alex Deibold was third—his fourth World Cup podium.
- Lindsey Jacobellis was third—her 45th World Cup podium.
- Seth Wescott had his best finish since March of 2013, in 10th.
- Rosie Mancari and Seth Wescott won the Icebreakers Breakthrough Award.
- Sunday wraps up the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix with a team snowboardcross at Solitude Mountain Resort.
QUOTES
Alex Deibold
It was really challenging conditions with all the new snowfall, but if history shows anything I tend to do well in adverse weather, growing up in New England. More than anything, I think the snow kind of brought the pressure down a little bit—it seemed a little less tense up there. Really I just rode my own race. The middle two rounds were a battle and I’m just so stoked I was able to come from behind and edge out Nate for that win. There were way more people here than I thought there would be with all this weather and the canyon closures. I can’t thank Solitude enough for putting on such a great event. I really look forward to coming back here and it was definitely sweet to take a podium on home soil.
Lindsey Jacobellis
It’s just so nice to be back on home soil. It makes a huge difference to get a good night sleep and be fed well—I probably had the most vegetables I’ve had all year on tour and I’m so stoked because it’s really challenging to get fresh veggies, so I feel a lot more balanced in general. Today my starts were a lot better than they have been in the past. There was just a lot of headwind and a lot of things to deal with coming into those first couple of features. I took a really nice clean line in bank turn five…I wanted to build some speed and make a move in turn six. I had planned on probably having to do that all week when I first inspected this course—when push comes to shove (I knew) ‘this is where I’m making a pass.’
