Klug, Gorgone take home victories in parallel giant slalom at U.S. Finals

Klug, Gorgone take home victories in parallel giant slalom at U.S. Finals{mosimage}USSA — Chris Klug and Michelle Gorgone got more than a tan Saturday as the two wrapped up the season with parallel giant slalom wins at the U.S. Snowboarding Alpine Finals under 60-degree temperatures and a beaming sun.

“It was more like wakeboarding than snowboarding,” said Klug, who finished up the season with a string of solid results, including a third at the World Cup Finals. “I’m just really stoked to have finished the season riding so strong and part of me wishes that the season was couple of months longer, but I’ll carry this momentum into next year.”

The last of the NorAm series events drew 48 men and 27 women to Breckenridge for PGS on the aptly named Sundown run. Rounding out the men’s podium was Ryan MacDonald, followed by Canadian rider Justin-Claude Dumont. On the women’s side, Stacia Hookom and Lynn Ott finished 2-3.

“It was like sitting on the beach and that’s why I love the U.S. Finals so much,” said U.S. Snowboarding alpine head coach Nick Smith. “I was telling both Klug and Gorgone the other day that they needed to bookend the season with the NorAms and they did just that, winning both the opening event in Copper Mountain and the event today.”

In only her second full season on the World Cup tour, Gorgone had the most successful season among U.S. alpine riders, garnering five top-five finishes, including her first podium at Whistler, British Columbia.

“She has learned so much this year that I simply want her to kick back and digest this season,” Smith said. “The girl is like a sponge and it’s because of the other riders on the team that she’s so good. She’s been riding with and watching girls like Hookom and Fletcher and that has picked her up and they will continue to keep her moving. She’s like their little sister and they pick on her, but it just seems to make her stronger.”

The U.S. Snowboarding Alpine Finals conclude Sunday with slalom.

U.S. Snowboarding Alpine Finals
Breckenridge, Colorado
March 20, 2004
Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom
1. Chris Klug, Aspen, Colo.
2. Ryan McDonald, Entiat, Wash.
3. Justin-Claude Dumont, Canada
4. Phillippe Berube, Canada
5. Adam Smith, Tangent, Ore.

Women’s Parallel Giant Slalom
1. Michelle Gorgone, Sudbury, Mass.
2. Stacia Hookom, Edwards, Colo.
3. Lynn Ott, Bend, Ore.
4. Sondra Van Ert, Olympia, Wash.
5. Constance Boisvert, Canada
Also:
10 Rosey Fletcher, Girdwood, Alaska
11. Lisa Kosglow, Boulder, Colo.