Holland 23rd in World Cup

Sandpoint's Nate Holland placed 23rd at a World Cup snowboardcross race Sunday in Austria. He was eliminated in the first round, despite posting the fastest U.S. team time in the time trials. In the first heat, he was one of three racers that came into a banked turn at the same time and he ultimately was squeezed out, as often happens in the adrenalized and hard-to-predict sport of SBX.

The fast time trial shows that Nate is riding well, and he'll get a chance to prove it when he tries for a gold medal three-peat at the Winter X-Games, Jan. 23, in Aspen, Colorado. Pat Holland, who didn't race in the last World Cup, will join his brother at X-Games, where Nate has dominated the competition two-years running. ABC will televise the event live.