SBX Final

Sweden's Pontus Stahlkloo and Germany's Sandra Farmand claimed the snowboard cross Crystal Globes today here in Livigno, Italy. It was a rough day for the second-ranked Zeke Steggall, of Australia, who was poised for a top finish but crashed in the first round.

Stahlkloo and Australian Zeke Steggall, ranked 1st and 2nd respectively in the standings, were the top male contenders, while third-ranked NOKIA World Team rider Guillaume Nantermod, of Switzerland, fought for a 2nd place in the Overall standings.

Both Stahlkloo and Steggall had good runs in the first round and were slated to meet each other in the finals, but Steggall took a nasty digger after the first huge bank and couldn't finish. Early reports indicate he may have broken bones in his left foot.

Steggall's injury cleared the way for Stahlkloo, who placed 4th in the race, but was assured the World Cup win. "I am stoked," he said, "the was my best season ever and I am so glad I concluded it with this result. It would have been nice to win, but all in all, that doesn't matter. Although I was safe when Zeke could not continue, it is really bad that he crashed. I would have rather liked to race him in the final with a real duel."

"It was nice that Karine won the race and I won the World Cup, so there are two friends on top..."— Sandra Farmand (GER)

Nantermod won this race, ahead of the French riders Mathieu Chiquet and Sébastien Frank, and finally made it to 2nd place in the final standings. "I definitely wanted to win today," the Swiss rider said, "the course fit me and it would be nice to see more like it. It would have been better if they built it way in advance, rather than just pulling the snow together the day before the race."

With a 10th place finish today, Zeke Steggall dropped back to 3rd in the final standings.

There was some excitement as well in the women's race, as Italy's Carmen Ranigler, France's Marie Laissus, Austria's Manuela Riegler and Germany's Sandra Farmand were all vying for the Crystal Globe. Failing to make it to the final round, Laissus was the first to drop out of contention. Ranigler lost it when she was beaten in the semifinals and only advanced to the consolation round.

So it was up to Riegler and Farmand, who faced French riders Karine Ruby and Emmanuelle Duboc in the final heat. Winning the race, Ruby claimed her second snowboard cross of the season, after winning her first alpine race of the season yesterday.

Finishing 2nd in the race and 1st Overall, Farmand claimed the first-ever World Cup title for the German team. "I was aware of all the calculations and kind of knew where I had to end up to close it," she said. "A win even would not have been enough if Carmen had been second. When she crashed, I knew I would be safe if I was second. It was nice that Karine won the race and I won the World Cup, so there are two friends on top."

Duboc took 3rd, ahead of Riegler, who ended up 3rd in the final standings. "When I made it to the semifinals, I did not want to push it too hard since I knew I was safe for the Overall World Cup," said Riegler, "so I did not care anymore if I finished first or eighth. I simply did not want to take any risk because it was not worth it for me. The course had nice obstacles, but the hill was just too steep and too narrow in some sections."

	Ruby and Tomba

Finishing 8th, Ranigler ended up 2nd in the final standings. "It really is a shame," she said, "I won the qualifications and felt pretty good this morning. When I hit a hole and lost control I just could not pull it together again, so I'll have to try again next year."

As a promotion for their mutual sponsor, Fila, Karine Ruby and Italian alpine legend Alberto Tomba raced each other on the snowboard cross course after the race. Tomba won. Ruby's explanation: "His only advantage was that he used his ski poles which I do not have..."

The giant slalom and halfpipe will conclude the NOKIA Snowboard FIS World Cup tomorrow.

—Britta Semmler, MountainZone.com Correspondent