. world ski news : SL and GS World Cup in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee - 13 December 2004 - 11:20
Poutiainen wins again
ZAUCHENSEE, 12/12/2004 14:44, Austria (AP) _ Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won a women's slalom event in Austria to regain the overall World Cup lead on Sunday. Poutiainen, who also leads the slalom World Cup standings, completed the Kaelberloch course in a combined time of 1 minute, 39.88 seconds, edging out Austria's Marlies Schild by just 0.03 seconds. Croatia's Janica Kostelic was third in 1:40.53, followed by Anja Paerson of Sweden (1:40.94). 24-year-old Poutiainen celebrated her second straight slalom win, following a third and a first place in the double-header slaloms in Aspen at the end of November. It was the fifth top-three finish for Poutiainen this season. "Everything is easy going. Thanks to my recent success, I have a lot of self-confidence and I can trust my skill," the Finn said. Slalom specialist Schild set the fastest time in the second run to record her first podium finish this season. "The pressure on me was enormous after the disappointing slaloms in America. However, I decided to attack fully regardless," said Schild, who crashed in both slaloms in Aspen. Schild said she was not annoyed having lost by such a narrow margin. "I am happy about my result, particularly looking at my physical condition," said the Austrian, who had only slept for a couple of hours the night before because of an upset stomach. While Poutiainen and Schild were happy with their rankings, Kostelic, who trailed the winner by 0.65 seconds, appeared disappointed. The Croat, who prefers to ski in icy conditions, lashed out at the slope saying: "The piste was too easy. Too easy for everyone." Kostelic, who is Poutiainen's biggest challenger _ together with last year's dominant slalom skier Paerson _ said slalom was the discipline "I hate most, although it's the discipline I am best at." Paerson briefly moved to the top of the overall standings on Saturday after finishing better than Poutiainen in the Super-G event. But Poutiainen's victory on Sunday allowed her to wrest back the lead. The Finn has 441 points, compared to Paerson's 393, with Kostelic third on 383.
Meissnitzer wins ahead of Recchia and Maze
ZAUCHENSEE, 11/12/2004 13:41, Austria (AP) _ Alexandra Meissnitzer won a super-G at home on Saturday, taking victory on the Kaelberloch course in 1 minute 13.04 seconds. Meissnitzer edged out Italian Lucia Recchia in 1:13.32 and Slovenia's Tina Maze in 1:13.56. Maze produced a major upset, snatching third place on a late run from American Caroline Lalive. A giant slalom specialist, Maze was the 64th in the 71-woman field to ski. But she overcame a choppy piste to claim her first podium finish. Lalive was fourth in 1:13.64 and fellow American Julia Mancuso fifth in 1:13.69. The victory was the 13th of Meissnitzer's career, who sped up through the center part of the course. "It is great that I could get rid of my old habits of being fast in the first, but not quick enough in the second half of the race," she said. The 31-year-old from Abtenau, a village just north of Zauchensee and near Hermann Maier's home town Flachau, suffered what she called "a disastrous weekend" in Lake Louise, Canada, where she finished 25th in the super-G and 36th in the downhill. "The races in America were terrible for me and since I had nothing to lose, I could attack," Meissnitzer said. For the 1998 super-G and giant slalom world champion, the victory was her first on home snow. Her last win came in Megeve, France, last season. "The pressure is always on the Austrians, especially at home," said Meissnitzer. It was a special day for Italy's Recchia, who celebrated her first career podium. "It is unbelievable. I was already close last year, but this time I made it," she said. Maze upset Lalive with a nearly faultless run, making up for her poor form in recent races in North America. "I knew my form must come back at some stage, but actually I did not expect it to return in a super-G," she said.