
The event was the finale of an exciting season for US snowboarders, one that saw snowboard cross featured at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games for the first time in history.
The men’s results mirrored the US podium sweep from Sochi 2014, as Strong, Mike Shea and Keith Gabel took first, second and third, respectively. In Sochi, the three finished in the same order.
It was a close race as usual for the three Paralympic medallists. Strong and Shea, who were separated by just half a second in Sochi, finished with combined times that were a little more than a second apart.
“I’m always stoked to see my boys doing well, and I think they feel the same way as well,” Gabel said of placing third behind his teammates. “We battled for one-two-three, same as in Sochi. If I’m ever going to miss a spot, I’d rather it go to those guys than anyone else.”
Navy veteran Tyler Burdick, who took eighth at the Sochi Games, finished in fourth overall.
On the women’s side, it was Duce who took the top spot. The victory earned her back-to-back national championship titles, as she edged US teammate Amy Purdy at the 2013 edition of the event.
Purdy, the 2014 Paralympic bronze medallist, was absent from the race as she is competing on the TV show Dancing with the Stars. Still, Duce’s competition was in top form. Nicole Roundy, who finished eighth in Sochi, took second place while newcomer Brenna Huckabee rounded out the podium in third.
Duce finished an uncharacteristic fifth at the Sochi Games and said she was happy to be back on the podium to close out the competition season.
“It was nice to have a good race after not doing too well in Sochi. I was glad to be ending the season on positive note,” Duce said. “It was soft because it was spring riding, but I tend to have the best results on Copper courses. They build really good courses.”
Cristina Albert, who earned a career-high fourth-place in Sochi, finished fifth at nationals.
Next up, the US national team will head straight into a training camp in mid-May followed by summer on-snow training in the southern hemisphere in preparation for the 2014-15 season.