Huet

Riders in the "Alta Pusteria" region of Italy have been suffering through a mild winter, but the slope for today's NOKIA Snowboard FIS World Cup fifth parallel slalom was well prepared. Nicolas Huet and Xavier Rolland took two medals for France, while their teammate and NOKIA rider Matthieu Bozzetto, who has already secured the parallel World Cup title, dropped out in the quarter finals after missing a gate.

"I would have loved to face Matthieu in the finals," Huet said, "and I really believed that it would be the two of us today. It is a shame that it did not work. For me, today's result is something special, since I had some podiums but only won the first race of the season. It was time for another one. I tried to put as much pressure on myself as I did in previous races and it worked fine. I am really happy."

Rolland has waited a bit longer to even reach a podium spot. "The last time I was second was more than two years ago in Kaprun," he said. "When it worked that good all through the finals, I was really hoping for a win. But second is fine for me, too. I think I was right to stay home and not go to Japan, that is why I came here with a lot of motivation for racing again."

"The conditions reminded me a lot of our summer camps at Mount Hood. I always feel so much better in March, it is like a second wind...."— Rosey Fletcher (USA)

American rider Anton Pogue took 3rd place, finishing in front of rookie Gerhard Unterkofler from Austria. "It was like riding back home in the summer camp, training at Mount Hood — sunny, hot and slushy, with a pretty straight course," said Pogue.

Today's results do not change the men's Overall standings. Bozzetto will remain in 1st, ahead of Huet and Felix Stadler from Austria, who finished 10th place today.

Fletcher Wins Women's Race
"That's awesome," said American Rosey Fletcher about her win, "I had a chest cold and was not feeling well, but I was able to pull it together. The conditions reminded me a lot of our summer camps at Mount Hood. I always feel so much better in March, it is like a second wind. I'm glad there are still some races to come, like our Nationals."

	Fletcher

Sweden's Sara Fischer finished 2nd — her best World Cup result so far. "The snow is different by this time of the year and I like conditions like this," she said. "The course did fit me a lot since it was pretty fast and mostly straight, but I would not say it was special — a good rider also needs to know how to handle such a course."

Taking 3rd, Jagna Marczulajtis won the first-ever World Cup medal for Poland. "I had been European Champion in parallel slalom before I entered the FIS races, but that was already four years ago," she said, overwhelmed. "I had a really good feeling this morning."

Claudia Riegler from Austria finished 4th, on a day that was an overall disappointment for her team. "The Austrians already had some problems in the qualifications," she said, "we usually finish among the top eight, but it just did not work today. The run was pretty short and kind of easy, but we could not pull it together. We are more used to the steeper slopes but there are a bunch of strong riders who are coming up and just waiting for their chance."

Isabelle Blanc from France placed 5th, but still keeps the lead in the Overall rankings, ahead of Austria's Manuela Riegler (13th today) and Fletcher, who moved up from 9th to 3rd.

The season's 11th halfpipe will be held tomorrow.

—Britta Semmler, MountainZone.com Correspondent