LA MOLINA, Spain (March 13) - World Cup snowboardcross champion Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) nailed down her fifth World Cup win of the season Friday, finishing first in Spain in a photo finish. Jacobellis was joined on the podium by fellow U.S. snowboarder Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) who was second. Seth Wescott's (Sugarloaf, ME) World Cup title hopes were dashed when Austrian Markus Schairer won to clinch the globe with one race remaining.

After the start, Jacobellis trailed second-place finisher Sandra Frei of Switzerland and had to work through the course to eventually win in a photo finish.

"I had a good pull out of the gate, but Sandra worked the rollers a little better than me and got ahead of me inside on the first turn," Jacobellis said. "She held her line so I wasn't able to really make a pass. I was trailing her the whole way down and at the last bank turn I had a really good turn and came out with extra speed.

"I came out to the right of her and drifted right, then I did the jump a little better, got into a tuck and there was definitely a photo finish. There was maybe a foot."

According to the SBX champ, the photo finish was better than leading the race the whole way.

"It feels good to come from behind and take a win," Jacobellis said. "It's way more satisfying because you feel like you make mistakes in the beginning and then you rectify it at the end. You can step up and not give up."

Adding to the end of the season excitement for Jacobellis is the fact that the SBX globe is hers and that, hopefully, it signifies greater things to come.

"To have the SBX title means a lot to me. It means that I've consistently held my own throughout the season," Jacobellis said. "Hopefully I have gotten all the kinks out and all the mistakes I made in the past, hopefully all those things are behind me and I've earned my right to go into the Olympic year strong."

In the men's race, Baumgartner came from winning qualifications on Thursday to finish behind Schairer, the men's SBX champ.

"It's good being on the podium, especially after my big crash last week," Baumgartner said. "Winning time trials and then having a great race was nice."

Baumgartner led as two of his teammates also finished within the top 10, with Wescott in sixth and X Games champion Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, CA) in seventh.

According to Baumgartner, a bad start kept him from taking the top of the podium Friday.

"I had a horrible pull in the finals, so I had to work for second, but it was great," Baumgartner said.

The SBX crew now sets its sights on the final event of its season in Valmalenco, Italy March 20.

"I started out the season really strong, then towards the middle of the season I beat myself up and had some bad luck," Baumgartner said. "I really want to finish this out strong and carry out that momentum into the Olympic year."

Jacobellis, too, hopes to finish the season out strong - with a win.

"That's always the goal. I take it one day at a time. I'll see how the course is there and hopefully I'll have fun," Jacobellis said.

Wescott, the 2006 Olympic champion, was hopeful in challenging for the title. But he needed a pair of wins and some help from Schairer. The Austrian's win clinched the men's title for him with the one event remaining.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
LG FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP
La Molina, Spain - March 13, 2009
Snowboardcross

Men
1. Markus Schairer, Austria
2. Nick Baumgartner, Iron River, MI
3. Francois Boivin, Canada
4. Alex Pullin, Austria
5. Tom Velisek, Canada
-
6. Seth Wescott, Sugarloaf, ME
7. Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA
11. Jonathan Cheever, Saugus, MA
20. Jayson Hale, Sierraville, CA
21. Shaun Palmer, South Lake Tahoe, CA
22. Jason Smith, Basalt, CO
24. Pat Holland, Squaw Valley, CA
29. Ross Powers, Londonderry, VT

Women
1. Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT
2. Sandra Frei, Switzerland
3. Dominique Maltais, Canada
4. Alexandra Jekova, Bulgaria
5. Maelle Ricker, Canada
-
30. Faye Gulini, Salt Lake City
# # #

For complete results click here.