"I'm super stoked to get on the podium a week before World Championships and two weeks before X Games," Holland said. "It's definitely the confidence builder that I needed and I'm really excited to be on the podium once again."
Holland led the way for two other U.S riders to finish in the top 10 with Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) finishing eighth and Nick Baumgartner (Iron River, MI) in ninth. Xavier De Le Rue of France won and Michal Novotny of the Czech Republic was second.
According to Holland, the course in Bad Gastein was all about being able to adapt to a higher speed.
"The course is super fast with tons of jumps everywhere and I am just stoked to be standing up after riding it so fast with so many heats and so many people," Holland said. "It demanded your full attention and it's pretty crazy. It's about 10 miles an hour too fast everywhere. You're constantly making crazy moves with people all around you."
Looking ahead, Holland is happy for his performance to impact the rest of his year.
"It felt good to move through the heats and win a few and really hit my stride for the season," Holland said.
In the women's race, Jacobellis' third place finish marked her 19th World Cup snowboardcross podium.
"Lindsey really rode a great race," U.S. Snowboarding Head Coach Peter Foley said.
According to Foley, Jacobellis was attempting to gain the win when she went down in the last heat, pushing her into third.
"She was trying to make a pass for the lead when she crashed in the final and ended up third," Foley said.
Marni Yamada (Seattle, WA), the only other woman from the U.S. to compete, finished 31st. Switzerland's Sandra Frei won the race, followed by Deborah Anthonioz of France in third.
In all, Foley was most excited about the number of U.S. athletes who qualified for finals.
"Qualifying was amazing. We got all eight in the finals. Everyone was killing it," Foley said. "I hope to get a few more people higher up, but with the strength of everyone that was qualifying, it wasn't so easy."
The crew stays in Bad Gastein for another World Cup competition Sunday.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 LG SNOWBOARD FIS WORLD CUP
Bad Gastein, Austria - Jan. 10, 2009
Snowboardcross
Men's
1. Xavier De Le Rue, France
2. Michal Novotny, Czech Republic
3. Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA
4. Konstantin Schad, Germany
5. Markus Schairer, Austria
Women
1. Sandra Frei, Switzerland
2. Deborah Anthonioz, France
3. Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT
4. Maelle Ricker, Canada
5. Dominique Maltais, Canada
