A historical win for Anja Paerson – first Crystal Cup for Maria Riesch

Manuèle Lang 10.03.2008 08:23 Uhr

It was certainly the happiest podium of the season – after two spectacular runs down the “Piste Nationale” at Crans-Montana, three smiling top-champions shared the podium of the third and last Super-combined of the season - also the last competition too prior the Finals at Bormio, Italy.

Sweden’s Anja Paerson, who has not won anything since last December when she captured two consecutive speed events at St Moritz, Switzerland, achieved a remarkable performance today in snatching her first World Cup Super-combined event after two strong runs in the downhill and the slalom parts to become the only fourth women to celebrate World Cup victories in all alpine disciplines in the modern ski racing.

She beat by 20/100 Bavaria’s Maria Riesch, the recent winner at Whistler Mountain, who became the first German to captured a Crystal globe since 2002 – when her former teammate Hilde Gerg got the Super-G Cup. Riesch, 5th in Saturday’s downhill, finished all three Super-combined of the season on the podium.

Riesch’s good friend Lindsey Vonn, since Saturday the most successful US downhiller on the World Cup tour, finished 3rd only a few hundredths behind her – yet way ahead of Austria’s Nicole Hosp, the defending Overall World Cup champion, who is now almost two hundred points behind the American.

Riesch, who has reached the podium in four out of five disciplines this season, is “only” 157 behind Vonn prior the first speed events at Bormio on Wednesday. She still remains a serious threat for the good friend who has always dreamed to clinch once the Overall World Cup standings – a feat which has not been accomplished since the greatest success of California’s Tamara McKinney in 1983.

Paerson was charging
Paerson, 3rd two weeks ago at Whistler Mountain in that event, charged the course with total determination in both the downhill and the slalom runs, losing only few tenth of a second on the fastest skiers, Vonn in the downhill portion and Austria’s Kathrin Zettel in the slalom part.

“Its’ great for me to win again after the last difficult weeks, I have been looking forward for this for a while,” said the Swede who enjoyed her 38th World Cup triumph today. “I skied the downhill much better today than yesterday then I nailed the slalom run almost as well as in the good old days when I was the leading slalom specialist,” the seven-time World Champion added.

“It’s exciting the get that first Super-combined win on the World Cup tour a year after winning my first ever Super-combined at the Are World Championships. It took me a while but it’s for sure a special success for me. It’s motivating to end the season on such a high note – yet now I’ll fight even harder for more next week at Bormio.”

First Cup for Riesch
Riesch, who has done much better in slalom this season that the Scandinavian, was eventually not as ready as Anja to take all risks in that crucial slalom run to successfully defend her lead in the discipline World Cup standings.

“It was tough,” she admitted. “I was very nervous while watching Lindsey coming down the slalom run, she could have clinched the title with another victory or even a 2nd place ahead of me. But then she finished 3rd and I won the cup which is huge. It’s my very first Crystal globe and I can’t believe I made it. I would not have bet on this at the season start, it means so much for me,” Riesch added.

“I don’t believe to have a real chance to threat her now in the Overall standings, she is very solid and determined. My goal is to achieve another great race next week during the Super-G competition. Another cup would be just wonderful. I have reached so much more than I expected,” added the skier from Partenkirchen who aims for a dozen podium finishes at the end of the season.

Without her unexpected crashes in downhill at St Anton, St Moritz and Whistler Mountain, Riesch would not be much closer to her friend in the standings – and eventually a tougher rival for the Overall Cup.

She will try to challenge her again this week at Bormio where a total of nine events are scheduled from Wednesday to Sunday including a Team Event on Sunday.