Holland nabs third straight win

Mt. BAKER, Wash. — Sandpoint native Nate Holland continued his torrid snowboarding run of late, winning the pro division of the 24th Legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom last weekend, making it three consecutive wins in three consecutive weekends for Holland.

The Mt. Baker event is revered in snowboarding circles for being the first big competition, long before snowboarding became the popular sport it is today, and therefore carries much cachet and street cred in the sport. Nate won the individually timed event in 1:26.86, edging U.S. Snowboarding teammate Graham Watanabe by just .13 seconds. Patrick Holland finished in 7th place, more than three seconds behind, and reigning Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott finished 12th.

Holland, who won X Games gold and the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix races the previous two weeks, now turns his attention to one of the biggest World Cup races of the year this weekend. The top SBX racers from around the world — including Pat Holland — will compete at Cypress Mountain in Vancouver, B.C., racing on the same course they’ll be seeing in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Nate won the same World Cup race last season, and will look to continue his winning streak this weekend, while perhaps setting the tone for a future Olympic medal.