07/02/2004 13:15

Palander Wins to Take Giant Slalom Lead 

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (Reuters) - Finland's Kalle Palander took the giant slalom World Cup lead with a race victory in difficult weather conditions on Saturday after his biggest rival, American Bode Miller, failed to finish the second leg.
  
Austria's Benjamin Raich lost the chance to snatch back the overall cup lead when he made a mistake at the third gate and finished a disappointing 24th.

Palander, the slalom World Cup champion, led from Miller after the first leg and finished the day 0.74 seconds ahead of Italian Massimiliano Blardone who made the podium for only the second time in his career.

Austrians Christoph Gruber and Heinz Schilchegger shared third place, 1.12 seconds behind Palander as rain made conditions difficult for the racers.

Palander, who clocked the fastest time in the first run of one minute 12.80 seconds, almost joined his rivals in throwing away his chances on his second run.

"It was a difficult start," he said. "I heard that Bode skied out and that made a difference. I tried to ski easy but doing that was not easy with such difficult conditions.

"It was close at the end. The weather was so difficult but I like difficult conditions. The second run was tough because there were so many small holes.

"Winning Adelboden is absolutely fantastic and unexpected. It is such a special and difficult hill I never thought I could win here. I have no words to describe what I feel."

Blardone was delighted with his performance after a second place in the Flachau giant slalom last month. "It is good to be on the podium again," he said. "I waited such a long time to get a podium and it is fun to be on the podium twice. This is a strong boost for me."

Miller was forced to stop and climb back up after missing a gate early in his run and he then skied out further down the hill after another mistake.

Raich was also unlucky. He managed to stay on his feet after his right ski lifted high in the air but finished 16 places behind former champion and team mate Hermann Maier, who earned his second top-10 giant slalom finish of the season and remains on top of the standings.

"I am far from my best shape in giant slalom so a top-10 is good," said Maier, the 1998 Olympic giant slalom champion, who was only 15th in the first leg. "It is very encouraging especially after the first run when I was so far behind."

The result put Palander 39 points ahead of Miller in the giant slalom standings with two events in the discipline left.

Palander is also in the running for the slalom title and said: "This is absolutely incredible and I don't know what to think. It is wonderful for me that I can now attack in both the giant slalom and slalom."

The Finn was world slalom champion in 1999 and will be one of the favorites in Sunday's slalom here.

By Will Gray, Reuters

 
07/02/2004 13:15
 
Paerson wins by nearly two seconds to wrap up giant slalom title

Paerson wins by nearly two seconds to wrap up giant slalom title Eds: CHANGES datelin ZWIESEL, Germany (AP) _ Anja Paerson of Sweden wrapped up the season title in the giant slalom Saturday with two blazing runs, swamping the competition by nearly two seconds. Paerson earned her third giant slalom win of the season and leapfrogged past Renate Goetschl of Austria again in their season-long battle to win the overall World Cup title. Paerson soared down the steep Arber World Cup slope in 2 minutes, 17.8 seocnds, with Tina Maze of Slovenia a distant second in 2:19.78 and Goetschl third, another .07 seconds back. "I saw what Renate had done in the second run _ you just have to fight, fight, fight," Paerson said. For a long time it appeared Maze might hold onto the lead, although the Slovenian started 21st on the second run. But one skier after another kept sliding out or losing time on some rough parts midway through the course. "I couldn't believe it _ I knew I was fast, but I didn't have that feeling," Maze said. Then Paerson put together her second nearly perfect run of the day to drop Maze to second. Goetschl, whose points have come in the speed events, reached the podium in the giant slalom for just the third time in her career. The unexpectedly high finish was a boost in her battle with Paerson for the season title. The skiers fought gusting winds in the second heat, while the first one was delayed a half hour because of fog. 
 

07/02/2004 12:57
   
Palander leads after first leg of water-logged giant slalom

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) _ Finland's Kalle Palander capitalized on an early start number to post the fastest time in the opening leg of a World Cup giant slalom Saturday run in wet, soggy conditions. Second out of the start hut, Palander twisted his way down the Kuonisbaergli course in 1 minute, 12.80 seconds. American Bode Miller, who started first, was second-fastest, 0.65 seconds behind the Finn. Italian Massimiliano Blardone crossed third in 1:13.58, while Austrian Benjamin Raich, a contender for the overall World Cup title, was fourth-quickest in 1:13.82. Large, wet snowflakes at the top of the course and rain at the bottom made visibility near-impossible. The poor visibility combined with rapidly deteriorating, slushy conditions meant skiers with later start numbers had virtually no chance of posting a good result. "''I was thinking at about gate 10 that I would need to wipe my goggles," Palander said. "But at gate 12 I said to myself, it would just blur them up. "I figured that the course was still in OK shape this early on, so I would just trust it and continue with the drops covering my goggles. I worked out for me luckily." Stephan Eberharter, who is fighting to defend his overall title, kicked out of the start 18th and finished in 24th and stormed out of the finish area. The powerful Austrian was all over the place coming down the course, swishing almost out of control in the bottom section. The outcome will mean losing valuable points to Raich in the chase for the coveted overall title. Austrian technical specialist Rainer Schoenfelder was 14th, 2.47 behind. "You couldn't see anything," Schoenfelder said. "The course was riddled with holes and bumps and soft snow and without seeing them it was nearly impossible to ski well." Teammate Hermann Maier crossed 15th, 2.25 off the pace. "I can't remember seeing anything on the way down," Maier said, only half-joking. Home favorite Didier Cuche, who won here in 2002, angrily destroyed one of his poles in the finish are after crossing back in 17th with a three second deficit to make up in the second leg.  

07/02/2004 10:38
 
Paerson leads first heat, but Goetschl right behind; Lalive third
 
REGION ARBER, Germany (AP) _ Sweden's Anja Paerson took the lead after the first heat of a women's giant slalom Saturday, but rival Renate Goetschl was surprising right behind her in second. Paerson put together a blistering first run of 1 minute 08.67 seconds at the World Cup event, starting just after fog lifted enough to end a half-hour delay. Goetschl, better known for dominated the speed disciplines, was 0.61 back withCaroline Lalive of the United States third in 1:09.23. Paerson and Goetschl have been in a season long battle for the overall World Cup lead with Paerson picking up most of her points by dominating the slalom and giant slalom and the Austrian collecting her points in the speed disciplines. Paerson, who has won several races by more than a second, was more than a second ahead of every one else until Goetschl surprised by turning in one of her best giant slalom runs of the season. Goetschl has 1,048 points for the season, with Paerson at 1,020 as the lead has changed hands several times. Normally, Paerson would be expected to grab the lead again in her strong event with a low finish by Goetschl _ the pattern all year. Paerson is chasing her third giant slalom triumph of the season and tops the discipline's overall standings. The race has been threatened by rain, along with the fog, with a chance of major storms hitting the slope later.

General Standing
 
World cup Leader

Maier Hermann
07.12.1972 (Flachau)
Ski: Atomic
 
  Maier Hermann  954
  Raich Benjamin  925
  Eberharter Stefan  879
  Kjus Lasse  824
  Miller Bode  771
  Palander Kalle  726
  Rahlves Daron  694
  Walchhofer Michael  653
  Knauss Hans  629
  Schifferer Andreas  584
  
World cup Leader

Paerson Anja
25.04.1981 (Tarnaby)
Ski: Salomon

  Paerson Anja  1120
  Gotschl Renate  1108
  Gerg Hilde  870
  Montillet Carole  853
  Dorfmeister Michaela  806
  Riesch Maria  618
  Meissnitzer Alexandra  609
  Ertl Martina  597
  Hosp Nicole  566
  Clark Kirsten  456
 

Next Races
07.02.2004 Adelboden (SUI) GS
07.02.2004 Region Arber (GER) GS
08.02.2004 Adelboden (SUI) SL
08.02.2004 Region Arber (GER) SL
14.02.2004 St. Anton (AUT) DH
15.02.2004 St. Anton (AUT) SL
21.02.2004 Are (SWE) SG