REITERALM, Austria (AP) – Renate Goetschl won her second straight super-giant slalom Saturday, leading another dominating performance by the Austrian women.
Goetschl, who won the season-opening super-G at Lake Louise, Alberta, earlier this month, sped down the icy Gasselhoehe course in 1 minute, 17.91 seconds for the 40th victory of her World Cup career.
“I didn’t expect to be so good in super-G this season,” said Goetschl, who struggled last season and won only one race. “I was surprised when I won in Lake Louise and now again here. My target at the start of the season was to win my fifth World Cup downhill title. But now I’m doing so well in super-G, I’d rather not talk about the downhill.”
Teammate Nicole Hosp, fourth in Friday’s super-combi, was runner-up, 0.71 seconds behind.
Switzerland’s Martina Schild, the surprise Olympic downhill silver medalist last year, prevented an Austrian sweep of the podium, crossing the finish line third, 0.80 seconds back, for her best World Cup finish. Austrians swept the next five spots for a total of seven skiers in the top eight. The top American was Kaylin Richardson in 13th place.
“It was good to break up the Austrians,” Schild said. “And good also for me to get a podium because it’s early in the season and this will help my confidence for the next races.”
In Friday’s super-combi, Austrians swept the top four places for the first time since 1990. Richardson finished in 1:19.58, and another American was right behind. Libby Ludlow was 14th in 1:19.61.
American Lindsey Kildow, second in Lake Louise, was still suffering from a stomach bug and went off course.
“I’m feeling a little better but my balance was completely off. I mean, I was in bed for 48 hours,” Kildow said.
“You lose touch with your body and balance. I just don’t have any energy. I had no chance. From the fifth gate I was catching my edge. It’s terrible. I maybe shouldn’t have raced, but I wanted to try.”
Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso, who apparently caught the same illness, tied for 18th.
AP-ES-12-16-06 0835EST
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.