Graham Watanabe competes during the Snowboardcross final of Snowboard FIS World Cup 2008 in Gujo, Gifu, Japan. (Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

GUJO-GIFU, Japan (Feb. 22) Graham Watanabe (Sun Valley, ID) rode through heats keeping little mistakes to a minimum to win the sixth Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup snowboardcross competition of the season Friday. It was Watanabe's second World Cup victory.

"It was my day in my home country. My parents come from Japan so I kind of felt the power. It's an honor for me to win here," Watanabe said. "The whole season, I was riding pretty good but always had some tiny mistakes in the semi finals. That was different today.”

It was an incredible race for Watanabe as he beat 58 other men, including current World Cup leader Stian Sivertzen of Norway, who finished second. Alex Pullin of Australia finished third.

Watanabe, an Idaho native, last won a snowboardcross World Cup in Valle Nevado, Chile, on Sept. 17, 2004. Heading to Chile started out as a trip with a friend and ended with Watanabe on everyone's SBX radar.

Friday's results are Watanabe's best this season since finishing fifth in two events in Valle Nevado in Sept. and pushed him into fourth place in the snowboardcross World Cup standings. Watanabe was also sixth in a SBX World Cup in Sungwoo, Korea, a week ago.

Shaun Palmer (South Lake Tahoe, CA) also had a great day, breaking into the top ten to finish in seventh place.

In the women's race, Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, VT) finished fourth in an extremely competitive set of heats that had the leader of the women's World Cup standings, Maelle Ricker of Canada, finishing first.

Jacobellis was able to keep her spot in second place in the World Cup snowboardcross standings, but Switzerland's Mellie Francon's third place finish put her a slim 40 points behind Jacobellis in the standings.

The World Cup competitions continue in Japan Saturday with a halfpipe competition and wrap up Sunday with parallel giant slalom.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup
Gujo-Gifu, Japan - Feb. 22, 2008
Snowboardcross
Men's
1. Graham Watanabe, Sun Valley, ID
2. Stian Sivertzen, Norway
3. Alex Pullin, Australia
4. Stefano Pozzolini, Italy
5. Mario Fuchs, Austria
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7. Shaun Palmer, South Lake Tahoe, CA
9. Seth Wescott, Carrabassett Valley, ME
13. Jonathan Cheever, Saugus, MA
16. Jason Smith, Durango, CO
17. Pat Holland, Tahoe City, CA
21. Nick Baumgartner, Iron River, MI
22. Nate Holland, Squaw Valley, CA

Women's
1. Maelle Ricker, Canada
2. Zoe Gillings, United Kingdom
3. Mellie Francon, Switzerland
4. Lindsey Jacobellis, Stratton Mountain, VT
5. Dominique Maltais, Canada
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22. Marni Yamada, Seattle, WA
24. Brooke Shaw, Litchfield, CT
27. Callan Chythlook-Sifsof, Girdwood, AK

For complete results click here.