Janica Kostelic got another day to nurse her swollen right hand before she resumes her quest to beat Sweden's Anja Paerson for the overall World Cup title.
A giant slalom race in Maribor, Slovenia, was canceled Saturday because warm weather led to the snow being dangerously soft. Organizers are hoping to fix the course in time for a Sunday slalom.
"It's OK, I can ski with this hand," Kostelic said. "My hand is pretty good -- better than yesterday. I can hold the pole now."
PHOTO: AFP
Kostelic's hand is still being rubbed with salves to reduce swelling after she got hurt during Thursday's slalom in Zagreb.
There, Kostelic thrilled her home crowd of 25,000 by finishing third despite losing her pole and glove at the start of the second run. She could barely move her fingers after her bare hand slapped the gates all the way down.
Kostelic, who leads the standings ahead of longtime rival Paerson, is already looking ahead to the Winter Olympics, starting Feb. 10, but the Croat isn't predicting a repeat of the 2002 games in Salt Lake City where she claimed three golds.
PHOTO: AFP
"My goal this time is one gold medal," Kostelic said.
Kostelic has 652 points in the overall standings, compared with Paerson's 585. The Swede won the season honors last year, edging her rival by three points.
In the giant slalom standings, Paerson has a 285 to 270 lead over Kostelic with three races left in the discipline before the Olympics.
PHOTO: AFP
Rain over the past few days, along with rising temperatures, led to the soft snow on Saturday. Despite some protests, many racers agreed the conditions were too risky.
They included Lindsey Kildow, the American leading the downhill standings. She posted a career-best ninth in giant slalom last year in Maribor.
"I was really looking forward to the race, because I know I can do well on this hill," Kildow said. "But I really wouldn't want to compromise my health by racing in conditions like today."
Organizers said the giant slalom may be rescheduled at another World Cup event. They hope the snow on the Snezni slope can be hardened enough to hold Sunday's slalom. Among other methods, they will water the slope and hope it freezes.
"Tomorrow's slalom is going to be icy," said Filip Gartner, the world skiing body's snow inspector.
The American team can now concentrate on the slalom first. The giant slalom has been the squad's weakest discipline this year.
Austria's Benjamin Raich recovered from a late mistake to win the final World Cup giant slalom before next month's Turin Olympics and overtake Daron Rahlves atop the overall standings.
Raich completed the treacherous Chuenisbaergli course Saturday in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 23.25 seconds for his second straight World Cup giant slalom victory.
"I reached a major goal of mine today," said Raich, who won last month at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. "It's a dream come true. It's a classic and a victory means a lot on such a difficult course."
Raich was fastest in the opening leg and was leading at the final split on the second run, but appeared to blow his lead when he braked at the final breakover, coming to a near stop before attacking the following gate.
However, the technical expert relaunched and crossed 0.49 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, Fredrik Nyberg of Sweden.
"It was a tough mistake but luckily it was on one of steepest part of course, so I didn't lose momentum and I could regain speed immediately," Raich said. "There was no time to think and I didn't lose momentum. I was also lucky to have a big enough advantage in the first leg."
Raich's previous best giant slalom result in Adelboden, one of the oldest and most revered classics on the World Cup circuit, was third place on his 1999 debut.
The 36-year-old Nyberg is the oldest man to finish on a World Cup podium, beating the previous record set by Italy's Kristian Ghedina, who was runner-up last season in a downhill at Chamonix, France, aged 35.
"I am a bit proud of this but I'm not going to quit for all that," Nyberg said. "My goal is to ski at the world championships at home in Sweden next year."
Kalle Palander of Finland and Stephan Goergl of Austria tied for third in 2:24.47. It was Palander's second giant slalom podium result of the season after two third-place finishes last month, and Goergl's first this season.
"Maybe I was trying too hard," Goergl said. "I proved myself today and showed what I am able to do in giant slalom. Now it's up to the coaches to make a decision if I will go to Turin."
French rookie Thomas Fanara, who started 48th, finished fifth, 1.43 behind, while Canada's Thomas Grandi was next, 0.14 seconds further back.
Rahlves of the US was 14th in the opening run and crashed out near the finish his second trip down. Overall champion Bode Miller placed 16th in the first run after his left ski got stuck coming out of the start hut and finished 14th, 2.39 off the pace.
Raich leads the overall standings after 17 events with 546 points. Rahlves dropped to second, tied with Miller on 489. Raich also took the lead of the giant slalom after five races with 286, 22 more than Italy's Massimiliano Blardone and 62 more than Nyberg.
"It feels good taking the overall lead, but it's not today -- I need to be at top but at the end of season," Raich said. "It is reassuring to know I'm up there fighting for the title with the other big names. But now I need to be consistent. A lot of things can still happen before the end of the season."
The US Olympic team will be announced Jan. 25. Miller, Rahlves and Erik Schlopy, who was 15th Saturday, have already qualified for the US giant slalom squad.
The last spot will be filled by either James Cochran or Ted Ligety. Cochran, who went out in Saturday's race, has the best single result of the two.
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