2nd season win for Lindsey Vonn

Manuèle Lang 21.12.2007 14:51 Uhr

Despite a huge mistake in the middle part of the demanding “Karl Schranz” downhill at St Anton, Lindsey Kildow won her second downhill race this season and reinforced her lead in the World Cup standings as she beat by 36/100 of a second Canada’s Kelly Vanderbeek and by 38/100 her teammate Julia Mancuso.

Switzerland’s Fraenzi Aufdenblatten was a strong 4th only two tenths away from her third World Cup podium and Maria Holaus the best Austrian in 5th place.

Nicole Hosp, 6th at 71/100, regained the lead in the Overall World Cup standings as Sweden’s Anja Paerson preferred giving-up the race on her way down after feeling a sudden pain at her knee. After skiing down to the finish area, Paerson said things don’t look as bad as she first thought and that she hopes to be able to be able to enter the Super-combined event on Saturday.

Italy’s former Super-G Olympic champion Daniela Ceccarelli was a surprising 7th her best performance since giving birth to her daughter two years ago.

While Marlies Schild made the best out of her low start number to come in 89th Renate Goetschl struggled in the lower part of the bumpy course and had to be content with a far 13th place over a second behind Vonn. It’s a worse finish for a long time in the specialty – she reached twice the podium so far this winter and was 4th in St Moritz.

Germany’s Maria Riesch also had problems and didn’t finish her run while France’s Marie Marchand Arvier sustained a spectacular crash fortunately without getting seriously injured. Her teammate Ingrid Jacquemod was the best French skier in 11th place.

Lindsey Vonn, who seems almost unbeatable in downhill after her demonstration at Lake Louise was as happy as surprized to celebrate her second season win here after her rough ride in the middle part of the challenging course.

“I went off the line for several seconds in the upper part of the course and at that point I thought it was over,” the skier from Park City said afterwards. “It was really demanding today with lots of ruts, but I kept on fighting hard in the lower part and apparently it was the good tactic,” she added. “It’s surely a wonderful victory, my first ever in Austria.”

Vonn achieved once again a strong season start this winter. After her win in Canada, she was 4th in Aspen and 2nd in St Moritz despite a mistake. A year ago, she won two races at Lake Louise and Aspen and finished once 2nd and once 3rd.

She increases her lead on last year’s downhill World Cup champion in the up-dated downhill standings – yet there are still six races left in that specialty in the coming months.

Kelly Vanderbeek, who reached her first World Cup podium in downhill after finishing 3rd in Super-G at Lake Louise last winter, is the third Canadian this winter to excel in the discipline after Britt Janyk, winner at Aspen, and Emily Brydon, 3rd at St Moritz. As Vonn, Vanderbeek also survived a difficult moment in the final part when she nearly lost her balance after a small bump. “I guess I was lucky there, it could have been brutal,” said the charming athlete from Kitchener who dare to wear a Santa Claus hat while waiting behind the leader’s board in the finish line. “I have been waiting for a long time on this result, I’m really happy that I was able to confirm my strong training runs today.”

Also very lucky was Julia Mancuso who needed some time at the arrival to regroup after sobbing a while in the arms of her older sister April. The determined Californian was clearly in the lead in the upper part of the course before being surprized by a bump on the steep final section. The skier from Squaw Valley was able to fully recover her balance and save her spot on the podium in the last gliding section yet she knew that she avoided a dramatic fall.

At least she reached her second podium this season after finishing an encouraging 2nd at Soelden in giant slalom. Her results were not as brilliant as expected in the following competitions.

In Saturday’s Super-combined event, the first this season, Hosp and Schild will do their best to finish ahead of Paerson and reinforce their position in the Overall World Cup standings. The Swede is the reigning Super-combined World Champion yet she never enjoyed a win in that discipline on the World Cup tour.

Lindsey Vonn is also aiming for a top-finish in that last race prior Christmas. She wants to show how well she can now ski in slalom and remain in the hunt for a podium finish in the Overall standings.