Lindsey Vonn of the US clinched her third discipline title in three days with a super-G victory yesterday to wrap up a memorable weekend of racing.
Vonn took the super-combined and downhill titles the previous two days and has moved within 96 points of German rival and good friend Maria Riesch in the overall standings with six races remaining this season.
In the super-G standings, Vonn now holds an insurmountable 171-point lead over Riesch with only one more race remaining in the discipline this season.
Photo: Reuters
Vonn clocked 1 minute, 21.75 seconds down the sun-drenched Prampero course. Fellow American Julia Mancuso was second, 0.23 seconds behind, while Riesch was third, 0.50 seconds back.
In a banner day for the Americans, World Cup rookie Laurenne Ross was fourth, 0.70 seconds behind, for her career-best result.
The last time US women took three of the top four spots was on Jan. 14, 2007, in a super-combined race in Zauchensee, Austria, with Mancuso first, Vonn second and Resi Stiegler fourth.
It was the 41st World Cup victory of Vonn’s career, moving her within one of Sweden’s Anja Paerson on the all-time list.
MEN’S SLALOM
AP, KRANJSKA GORA, SLOVENIA
Mario Matt of Austria won his second straight World Cup slalom race yesterday, while the two favorites for the discipline title, Ivica Kostelic and Jean-Baptiste Grange, were disqualified for straddling a gate.
Matt, who was fifth after the opening run, finished the Podkoren course in a combined time of 1 minute, 49.19 seconds for his 12th career victory.
“I had the self-belief to fully attack. My material is perfect, that makes ski racing a pleasure for me,” said Matt, who struggled with his equipment for the first part of the season. “I got new boots by the end of December. Since then, everything goes well. Being at the start and knowing that everything is OK, that’s just a great feeling.”
Axel Baeck of Sweden and Nolan Kasper of the US, who had the fastest second-run time,both earned their first career podium finish as they shared second place, 0.09 seconds behind Matt.
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