Swiss sweep Soelden PGS

Swiss sweep Soelden PGS{mosimage}Swiss men, led by Heinz Inniger, swept the podium and took six of the top eight spots in the finals of the men’s parallel giant slalom race held Sunday on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden. Americans Eric Warren (Bennington, VT) and Adam Smith (Tangent, OR) rode their way into the finals, placing 15th and 16th, respectively.

For Smith, it was his second-straight appearance in the finals of a World Cup this season. He grabbed the third-place spot on the podium the previous weekend (Oct. 7) at the indoor parallel slalom race in Landgraaf, Netherlands.

Sunday marked the third World Cup win for Inniger, who kept fellow countryman Gilles Jaquet off the top of the podium for the second year in a row. ‘It’s unbelievable’ said 24-year-old Inniger. ‘I had some problems during the qualification, but the more I raced during the competition the better I got. It’s an amazing feeling because It hink this victory was a big step towards Torino (and the Olympic Winter Games).’

In a family battle for third, Simon Schoch took his place on the podium when younger brother Philipp suffered a back injury during the semifinal and had to be taken to a hospital in Innsbruck for treatment. But that wasn’t the only hardship for Simon Sunday: His board ‘broke into pieces’ after a crash in the quarterfinals, in which he also injured his hip.

For complete results, visit the Web here.

Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup
Soelden, AUT Oct. 16, 2005
Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom
(16 make finals)

Final
1. Heinz Inniger, Switzerland
2. Gilles Jaquet, Switzerland
Small Final
3. Simon Schoch, Switzerland
4. Philipp Schoch, Switzerland
Consolation
5. Alexander Maier, Austria
6. Marc Iselin, Switzerland
7. Markus Ebner, Germany
8. Roland Haldi, Switzerland
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15. Eric Warren, Bennington, Vt.
16. Adam Smith, Tangent, Ore.