LUDLOW, Vt. (AP) -- Randy Neptune, a welder from Idaho has claimed the first men's national snowboard cross title while equally unheralded Amy Johnson of nearby Bondville, Vt., took advantage of a spill by the leaders to win the women's championship.
Neptune 24, who runs his own welding business in Boise, sailed past Jeff Greenwood in the final 200 yards at Okemo Mountain Resort on Sunday to win the title.When Greenwood crashed, Seth Wescott took second place. Greenwood, who got a bloody nose when his head slammed onto a knee, finished third. and Canadian Jasey Jay Anderson was fourth.
In the women's event, halfpipe champion Shannon Dunn and Kelly Clark were side-by-side when they collided in the final rollers. Johnson, who rides for the snowboard team at nearby Stratton Mountain, rode past and then held off Dunn, who had bounced up and resumed the chase to the finish line.
Snowboard cross has been described as "roller derby on snow." Up to six riders start together in a heat and race down a course that includes banked turns, berms, jumps and rolling terrain at the finish.