KREISCHBERG, Austria (Jan. 6) - Tyler Jewell (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Chris Klug (Aspen, CO) were on point Wednesday as they finished fourth and fifth, respectively, during a World Cup parallel giant slalom in Austria. The event was the third of five Olympic qualification events for the U.S. athletes.

"It was great for Tyler to get fourth place," U.S. Snowboarding Alpine Coach Jan Wengelin said. He was super nervous in the qualification, there was a lot of pressure about the Olympic Games, but he just rode really smart, stuck to his game plan and stuck to his guns."

According to Wengelin, though he went up against tough competitors in his heats, Jewell was on his A game to make his Olympic qualification criteria.

"He was down a half second behind first run and coming back showed that he has what it takes to play in the big leagues," Wengelin said. "He had a wicked run and was super stoked and when he came up I told him 'you made the qualification criteria for the Olympics.' He realized that then was so happy about it and he hugged me and everything and thanked me and high fived a lot of people."

Following that heat, Jewell raced against Austria's Benjamin Karl and was unable to beat him.

"He went up in the final against Benjamin and actually lost both those runs," Wengelin said. "So there was a little lack of focus in the last three runs I would say. But all in all he was super happy and it worked out pretty good."

Wengelin went on to say that as a team, the good results were important.

"We needed that one as a team," Wengelin said. "It's good for the other guys because they've been riding really good in training and made small mistakes. The guys have been super tight lately. I think they will realize that it's go time so hopefully they can pull something out of the hat the next two races here."

Following Jewell was Klug, who was happy with a solid World Cup result.

"I was really happy with my run and had a lot of fun," Klug said. "I love this hill, I've had good success on this hill in the past, I finalized my Olympic qualifications here in 2002. I really love this hill, I was stoked about my riding."

In the women's competition Lindsay Lloyd (Centerville, UT) led the U.S. in 21st. Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands won, followed in second by Alexa Loo of Canada and Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli of Switzerland in third.

According to Wengelin, the race as a whole was a success.

"It was an unbelievable race. After Telluride I thought they ran the best World Cup race of the season," Wengelin said. "The snow was fantastic, they were very professional, so it's good to race here. The athletes love it, because you can run your own line and that helps out a lot."

The World Cup resumes PGS competition Jan. 17 in Switzerland.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 LG FIS World Cup
Kreischberg, Austria - Jan. 6, 2010
Parallel Giant Slalom

Men
1. Jasey Jay Anderson, Canada
2. Andreas Prommegger, Austria
3. Banjamin Karl, Austria
4. Tyler Jewell, Steamboat Springs, CO
5. Chris Klug, Aspen, CO
-
18. Adam Smith, Bend, OR
27. Darren Ratcliffe
33. Vic Wild, White Salmon, WA

Women
1. Nicolien Sauerbreij, Netherlands
2. Alexa Loo, Canada
3. Fraenzi Maegert-Kohli, Switzerland
4. Marion Kreiner, Austria
5. Isabella Laboeck, Germany
-
21. Lindsay Lloyd, Centerville, UT
51. Michelle Gorgone, Boston
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