SOELDEN, Austria - Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won the opening race of the ski season Saturday, edging Kathrin Zettel of Austria by 0.01 second in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier.

Finland's Tanja Poutiainen speeds down the course on her way to take the third place during the first run of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Soelden, Austria, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Poutiainen was trailing Zettel at the final checkpoint but made up time on the flatter bottom section, clocking a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 24.96 seconds for her ninth career victory.

Slovenia's Tina Maze speeds down the course on her way to take sixth place during the first run of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Soelden, Austria, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Armando Trovati)

Opening-run leader Denise Karbon finished third, 0.32 back, and Manuela Moelgg, who stood second after the morning leg, fell in her second trip down.

Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn placed ninth. American teammate Julia Mancuso, the Olympic giant slalom champion, fell shortly into her second run after placing 21st in the opening leg.

Lindsey Vonn of the United States smiles prior to a training session ahead of Saturday's alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Soelden, Austria, Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. The World Cup season opens over the weekend with a women's and a men's giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

The start of each run was pushed back 30 minutes so organizers could clear four inches of freshly fallen snow off the course. Underneath the snow, conditions were challenging.

"I think everyone had a difficult go at it this morning," Vonn said. "It was pretty rough conditions. It was going from grippy ice to sheer ice to big ice chunks. It was hard to get the feeling for the snow and the terrain."

Giant slalom is the only discipline Vonn has not won in, and this marked her first race since switching ski brands from Rossignol to Head in the offseason. The Minnesota native was skiing well on the top section but then lost more than half a second when she emerged from shadows covering the course's midsection in her second run.

Sweden's Anja Paerson signs autographs during a training session ahead of Saturday's women's World Cup giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, Friday, Oct. 23, 2009. The World Cup season opens with a women's and a men's giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier over the weekend. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Poutiainen won her second World Cup giant slalom title last season and had finished second twice in Soelden — including last year — to go with two other top-five results. Her main goal this season is winning a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics in February for her first major championship title.

Poutiainen took silver behind Mancuso in giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games and has won two silvers and two bronzes at world championships.

By ANDREW DAMPF,
Associated Press
October 24, 2009

Nicole Hosp crashes, out for season with knee injury

Former overall World Cup winner Nicole Hosp will miss the rest of the season after crashing and injuring her right knee in the opening race in Soelden.

The Austrian team says Hosp was airlifted by helicopter Saturday off the Rettenbach glacier to a hospital in nearby Innsbruck, where she had ligament surgery on her right knee.

Austria's Nicole Hosp crashes during the first run of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Soelden, Austria, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

Hosp lost control on the upper section of the giant slalom course and slid downhill headfirst for about 50 yards before coming to a stop.

In January, the 2007 overall winner broke the upper part of her shinbone and tore ligaments in her left knee in a crash in Zagreb, Croatia.

The Associated Press
October 24, 2009

Finland's Tanja Poutiainen, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race, celebrates on the podium with second placed Austria's Kathrin Zettel, left, and third placed Italy's Denise Karbon, in Soelden, Austria, Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson)