King of the mountain series

[Pat Donnelly]

From FirstTracksOnLine.com

Telluride, CO (Sunday, December 14, 2003) - Team USA ’s Chris Klug came from behind to beat Mathieu Bozzetto in the closest race in Jeep King of the Mountain history today. Bozzetto and Klug’s teammates were equally successful at the podium with Team France’s Karine Ruby continuing to dominate the top podium, while Team USA ’s Rosey Fletcher garnered second place.

Tight turns, high speed passes, crashes, and incredibly close finishes captivated the crowd today as eight teams comprised of elite men and women snowboard racers from around the world competed for more than $470,000 in prize money throughout the Series and the chance to walk away with a two-year lease on a Jeep Liberty.

The one-of-a-kind Y course was designed especially for the Jeep KOM Series and is the only competition worldwide that uses this unique track. Racers competed on two head-to-head courses that converged into a single finish.

This year’s Y delivered even more excitement with the addition of skiercross and snowboard cross features, thus incorporating portions of three Olympic disciplines: Parallel Giant Slalom, Downhill, and Snowboard Cross.

“I loved this year’s Y,” said Klug. “It was exciting to have both racers negotiating the terrain together.”

Bozzetto and teammate Karine Ruby were the overall Series winners in last year’s Jeep KOM. However, Klug loves riding in his home state of Colorado, having placed first at the Jeep KOM in Aspen last season, and now first today at Telluride Mountain Village.

Klug’s victory today propelled Team USA into a tie with last year’s champions, Team France.

The Series travels next to its traditional east coast venue with a race at Killington Resort in Vermont on January 3, 2004. Open Qualifiers will be held on January 2. The inaugural international event will be on January 31 at Sunshine Village of Banff, Canada.

All points earned by individual athletes and teams will be totaled after the World Championship Finals, being held on February 15 at Squaw Valley USA in California.

The six race events will be nationally televised between December 2003 and March 2004. Today’s race can be seen on CBS Sports on January 10, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. EST.