Krings wins season opener PGS in Soelden; Gorgone fifth for USST

Krings wins season opener PGS in Soelden; Gorgone fifth for USST{mosimage}Austria’s Doresia Krings won the parallel giant slalom Saturday to capture a season-opening event in World Cup snowboarding and repeat her victory from last season. Krings beat Switzerland’s Ursula Bruhin in the final. France’s Julie Pomagalski defeated Austria’s Claudia Riegler for third place.

U.S. Snowboarding rider Michelle Gorgone led for the USA, finishing fifth on the Rettenbach glacier, one of the highest race courses in the world at nearly 10,000 feet. While she missed the podium, it was a strong opener for Gorgone, who lost only one round all day. Gorgone opened with a win over Austrian Manuela Riegler, then lost to eventual second place finisher Bruhins in the quarter finals. Gorgone went on to knock off France’s Isabelle Blanc and Amelie Kober of Germany to take fifth.

“I was calmer than ever before today’s race,” Krings said after her sixth career World Cup victory. “The steep slope at Soelden suits me fine.” Krings slightly strained her thigh in her semifinal victory over Pomagalski and will miss the next race at Landgraaf, Netherlands.

Gorgone’s big win of the day came over Kober, a 17-year old German sensation and World Junior champion who led qualifying. On their first run, Gorgone and Kober both hip-checked on the same gate, but the American was quicker to get back on course and won the heat. Gorgone came back to cleanly win the second to take fifth.

“I was really happy for Michelle today,” said U.S. Snowboarding Alpine Coach Jan Wengelin, who returned to the team this year after a two-year absence. “She has listened and learned and now she’s starting to really believe in the training she’s been doing. She rode great all day. She was also had a little luck, but that’s all a part of the game.”

–From Associated Press and USST news services