MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, Italy — The race announcer calls French snowboarder Karine Ruby "the Extraterrestrial."
After winning her second gold medal at the FIS Snowboard World Championships, one begins to wonder if she really does come from another planet. In taking the parallel slalom Friday, she became the first rider ever to capture two world titles in different events in the same year.
"I know dual (parallel slalom) is not my best event, so for me it is a good day," said Ruby, who wrote off her top World Cup ranking in the event as a product of few races so far this season.
The scary part is that another gold Sunday in snowboardcross is well within her grasp. She currently leads the World Cup circuit in that as well.
Meantime, U.S. slalom specialist Anton Pogue, Hood River, Ore., got his groove back, earning a bronze medal on the men's side. The Americans' mantra on another foggy, snowy day in the Italian Alps was "ride aggressive." Pogue struggled all week, being disqualified in the giant slalom for missing a gate and failing to make the final field in the parallel giant slalom.
"I know I ride good slalom. I just had to be reminded of that. That's all," said Pogue, 32, with his trademark resounding laugh. "Almost all of them were good runs for me. There was just a couple of mistakes on one or two runs, and sometimes that can cost you, but I'm happy with my results."
Nicolas Huet of France defended his 1999 FIS parallel slalom world title (the championships are held biennially), defeating teammate Mathieu Chiquet by a mere .11 seconds.
In all, French riders captured two of the top three places for both men and women.
The parallel slalom format calls for each rider to make one qualifying run, after which the top 16 men and top 16 women are seeded according to finish. The fastest qualifier is paired against the slowest, and so on. Competitors race side by side on a blue-gated course and a red-gated course. The one with the fastest combined time for the two runs advances to the next round.
The knockout system can be cruel. Stacia Hookom, 25, who started the year at a crossroads in her career, has ridden well of late.
On Thursday, she qualified in 16th place, meaning she had to take on the fastest qualifier — teammate Rosey Fletcher.
Down .47 seconds after the first race, Hookom came back to barely nip Fletcher by .08 seconds after they switched courses. "I let it all hang out on the second run because I wanted to keep racing," she said.
Hookom went on to lose in the quarter-finals to eventual third-place finisher Carmen Ranigler of Italy. She wound up eighth overall, while Fletcher was ninth.
It was Hookom's first top eight World Cup finish in quite a while. "I feel like I've figured something out and hopefully I can keep moving up," said the Vail, Colo., resident.
Ruby, too, figured something out since her last race. She stumbled in the parallel giant slalom quarter-finals Wednesday when she looked over her shoulder for her competitor. She didn't do that in the finals Friday because teammate Isabelle Blanc had a slight edge as they came over the last knoll.
"The second run was really tough," Ruby said, who sports gold earrings and a small, stuffed bear in her braided ponytail when she rides. "She was ahead of me, but I knew I could win on the last gates."
Asked about her chances in Sunday's boardercross, Ruby shrugged. "I think everybody's tired, so we'll try to do our best."
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