Sweden’s Maria Pietilae-Holmner won the women’s alpine World Cup slalom in Aspen, Colorado, on Sunday, ahead of Germany’s Maria Riesch and Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen.
Riesch and Poutiainen repeated their silver-bronze placings at the first slalom of the season at Levi, Finland.
Pietilae-Holmner, who won world championship silver in the giant slalom at Are, Sweden, in 2007, claimed the first World Cup victory of her career. She led after the first run and was fastest also on the second as she finished 0.68 seconds in front of Riesch and 0.93 seconds in front of Poutiainen.
PHOTO: AFP
“My first win! I can’t describe it,” the elated 24-year-old Swede said. “It brings me to tears. I feel super good.”
Riesch, the Olympic and world champion in the discipline, was seventh after the first run, but delivered the second-fastest -second-leg performance to reach the second step of the podium.
She also regained the lead in the overall World Cup rankings, a day after she had been supplanted by compatriot Viktoria Rebensburg thanks to Rebensburg’s -runner-up finish in the giant slalom on Saturday.
“I can be happy with this race,” Riesch said.
Austrian Marlies Schild, who won at Levi, failed to qualify for the second run after she straddled the first gate on the course in the opening leg.
“Short day,” said Schild, who earned slalom silver at the Vancouver Olympics and bronze at Torino four years earlier. “This doesn’t happen. Never.”
With her eighth-place finish, US star Lindsey Vonn of nearby Vail, Colorado, claimed some valuable World Cup points. She notched the fifth-fastest time on the second leg as she bounced back from her disappointing giant slalom performance on Saturday, when she skied off the course on the first leg.
“It’s the hill that never quits,” Vonn said of a course where she has often struggled. “This hill is just tough and you try to do the best that you can.”
Sarka Zahrobska, who had won the slalom here the past two years, settled for 12th place.
LAKE LOUISE
AP, LAKE LOUISE, CANADA
Tobias Gruenenfelder raced to his first World Cup victory, beating Swiss teammate Carlo Janka by 0.07 seconds on Sunday in the super-giant slalom on the Men’s Olympic course
Gruenenfelder completed the 2.4km course in 1 minute, 32.31 seconds.
“It’s very emotional and I’m very happy,” said Gruenenfelder, who turned 33 on Saturday. “It was a long time for me to wait for the first win. It’s a great feeling.”
Austria’s Romed Baumann was third in 1 minute, 32.58 seconds.
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