CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Through two qualifying heats and a final, Nate Holland maneuvered his way past fellow snowboarders on his way down a challenging course during Saturday’s Suzuki Champion’s Cross event.

Nothing seemed to faze him. Not the frequent jumps, nor the screaming crowd at Sugarloaf/USA. Not the fact that he ended up racing against his brother, Pat, for the first time in a championship final. Not even a midair collision (featuring Pat Holland and race-leader Jonathan Cheever) that paved his way to victory bothered him a bit.

But there was one thing that kept intruding on his concentration, he admitted after winning the inaugural event, which was hosted by Sugarloafer and Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott of Farmington.

“There was only one really big distraction on the course all day long,” Nate Holland said during the post-race press conference. “As you come to the second [jump], you look down the home stretch and you could just see that yellow dirt bike glaring at you.”

The dirt bike, a Suzuki 250, was on display just beyond the finish line, and was his for the taking, along with $10,000 for winning the event. More than $50,000 in cash and prizes was divided among the 16 riders who qualified for Saturday’s rounds after Friday time trials.

Hundreds of spectators lined the course on lower Competition Hill and Narrow Gauge on a bright sunny day. Temperatures reached about 45 degrees at the finish, but felt warmer, and many fans stripped down to T-shirts and basked in the warmth.

Nate Holland, a 28-year-old Olympian from Squaw Valley, Calif., wasn’t really kidding about his interest in the motorcycle, though he likely didn’t spend much time looking at it while careening down Sugarloaf at 45 mph.

He’s an accomplished dirt bike rider and plans to take his new bike to central California this summer to train for a celebrity race.

And after lurking in third place through much of the final race – four riders competed head-to-head in each of four quarterfinals, two semis and the eventual final – he took advantage of some late-race contact ahead of him to seize his opportunity.

“Pat got the lead [after a late Cheever bobble],” Holland said.

That miscue cost Cheever – who had qualified fastest and won his quarterfinal and semifinal heats – and both Holland brothers decided to perform their mandatory freestyle element on the next jump.

Those 360-degree spins were performed with varying degrees of success.

“Right when I was about to land, Cheever and I linked up in the air and it put me off balance and I washed out,” Pat Holland said.

Cheever also slowed a bit, and Nate Holland slipped into the resulting hole and took the lead.

After that, his game plan was simple: Stay upright, and get to the bike first.

“[Cheever] had to spin and I didn’t, because I’d gotten mine out of the way,” Nate Holland said. “So I just had a straight shot home and that’s what I took.

“I pinned it all the way home, right to this baby,” he said, patting his new motorcycle lovingly.

Cheever, a 21-year-old who was born in Boston and now lives in Park City, Utah, had dominated since arriving at Sugarloaf. He finished second while 30-year-old Mattias Blomberg of Sweden was third, and Pat Holland fourth.

Cheever said he knew what to expect from his fellow competitors entering the final.

“I raced a few of these guys so I knew exactly what they were going to do,” Cheever said. “And I raced Nate Holland about 100 times in my head before this race.

“I just got out in front of him at the beginning of the race and just told myself, ‘If I’m perfect, I’ll win,’ because he just doesn’t make any mistakes,” Cheever said.

He was right.

Nate Holland was content to follow closely as the leaders worked their way down the course, waiting for a chance to pass.

Then, after finishing, he rode directly toward the gleaming dirt bike he had been racing for.

“I knew it was right here,” he said, after firing up the Suzuki and taking it on a short jaunt up the mountain, a rooster-tail of snow flying off his back tire. “I’d already introduced myself to it this morning, two races before. I let her know I was coming home.”

And if he’s lucky, 24-year-old Pat Holland might even get a chance to ride it, too.

After all, he’ll be the one storing the bike.

“I’ve got a garage, and we both live in Tahoe, so I’ve already got one of his bikes in my garage. Now I’ve got two,” Pat Holland said.

But after falling with the finish line and victory in sight, Pat Holland emphasized that his brother had raced smart, well, and deserved credit.

“I don’t have any claim on that bike,” he said. “He raced really well today and I’m proud of him.”