Stage eight of the 2000/2001 Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup will be held in Kronplatz January 17-19, and just like in previous years, it will be special for a number of reasons... Three hundred riders from 30 different nations signed on for this last World Cup prior to next week's World Championships in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, and most of the participants will use this last opportunity to check their form in parallel giant slalom, halfpipe and snowboard cross. Apart from the valuable points they collect for top results, each of the six winners, both male and female also get a special prize: A Ducati "Monster Dark" motorcycle! Despite warm temperatures over the past few days, the organizers have been able to put good competition venues in place. The parallel giant slalom will kick off the competition on Wednesday on the "Pre de Pares" slope. French riders Nicolas Huet and Karine Ruby, who currently lead the Parallel GS World Cup standings, are the favorites, but a couple of runner-ups will certainly try to close the gap. In the men's division, those vying to edge out Huet are Slovenian Dejan Kosir, France's Mathieu Bozzetto and Sweden's Richard Richardsson. For the women, it will be US rider Rosey Fletcher and Italy's Carmen Ranigler giving Ruby a run for her money...or motorcycle. The season's fourth halfpipe contest will mark day two of the competition on Thursday. The oversized pipe, prepared with a Snow Turbo Integra, is 120 meters long, has a transition of 5.2 meters with walls 4.5 meters high and an inclination of 14 meters. Magnus Sterner from Sweden is currently leading the World Cup standings, just ahead of his teammate Stefan Karlsson and Tuomo Ojala from Finland, but there are quite a few other contenders. Stine Brun Kjeldaas from Norway sits in first place in the women's rankings after three consecutive wins but she won't be at the start at Kronplatz so runner-ups Michiyo Hashimoto, of Japan, Sweden's Anna Olofsson and German rider Sabine Wehr-Hasler will try to make up some points for sure. The snowboard cross will conclude the event on Friday, just before everyone leaves straight for the World Championships. With a total length of 1100 meters, the course is one of the longest in the world. After winning both snowboard cross races in France last weekend, Karine Ruby and Jasey Jay Anderson of Canada are again the number one contenders. Regardless of the outcome here however, World Cup leader Pontus Stahlkloo from Sweden is safely in possession of the yellow leader's bib. Markus Ebner from Germany sits in 3rd place in the standings behind Anderson and also should be considered. As should Sandra Farmand from Germany, currently 2nd in the rankings, and the only one who could take the yellow bib away from Ruby this season. — Britta Semmler, MountainZone.com Correspondent