Maria Riesch had to fight hard until the last gate of the last slalom run to successfully defend her slalom World Cup title at Garmisch-Partenkirchen while Austria's Marlies Schild celebrated her third season win thanks to blistering performances in both legs. The 25-year-old German who started that last season race with a lead of only 23 points on Kathrin Zettel, the last winner at Maribor, felt great pressure as Zettel found back most of her winning form today to strongly challenge the Olympic champion on the steep and treacherous Gudiberg course. 6th in the morning run with a delay on 12/100 of a second on Riesch, Zettel took all risks in the early afternoon to establish a new best time out of reach for her next rivals, including Maria Riesch who lost 70/100 on her after her second run. Only Schild could ski a little faster than her teammate.

Fortunately for her, no other racer skied between both favorites, allowing Riesch to keep a small margin of three points in the final slalom standings. "I have been struggling today, I did not find back my confidence and my form from the Olympics, I'm really lucky I could make it here," the skier from Garmisch-Partenkirchen said afterwards. "My level of energy was much lower today and I could not fully attack as in Canada," she also explained. "It was really tough and I'm so happy I could do it again. Before the race, I told myself that I had already accomplished great performances during this season, including here where I excelled in all the past three races."

A long season for Maria Riesch.

"It has been a long season for me, it's quite demanding to compete in all the races. To win once more this crystal globe is definitely special. Our team did really well this winter. I'm looking forward for the World Championships here."

With more than a dozen of podium finishes this winter including her three wins, Maria Riesch achieved once again a great World Cup season, ‘only' 155 points behind her good friend Lindsey Vonn. "It's very encouraging to see that I kept on improving in the past three years and I'm quite excited about my capacity to reach the podium in all specialties including in giant slalom. For sure I aim to clinch the big cup in the coming years, it would mean a lot to me."

Winter is not totally over for Maria Riesch as she plans to train a few days on the downhill course during the coming weeks. "The conditions are really good right now and it makes sense to test the course a little more," she explained. "But I'll soon take a break and enjoy a few days off somewhere far from here - in a sunny and warm place," she added with a smile.

Marlies Schild was the fastest slalom skier.

Looking back to the entire season, it's obvious that Marlies Schild has again been the faster slalom specialist with a total of three wins. A little more luck in some occasions like Zagreb or Maribor would have put her out of reach for the other skiers. Yet the Austrian was pleased the same with her comeback season. "I enjoyed many great moments this winter, I did better than expected in several occasions and I'm happy with my recent results, especially my second Olympic medal. I could not ask for more after all the health problems I had to overcome after my injury two years ago at Soelden," added the 29-year-old.

"It's great to end the season on such a high note. This slope is very demanding and I'm looking forward for the next World Championships here next year. It's good to have high goals again now. A few months ago I was not even sure to still have the potential to get onto the podium again. Now I know I'm almost back again."

Like most other top-skiers, Schild will be testing new skis in the coming weeks prior taking some deserved holidays and tank some energy before her next training camps. The Austrian team badly needs her to lead the charge for more successes in the coming season - which starts soon again at Soelden - in seven months!

PkL
FISalpine.com
13 March, 2010

Place   Garmisch Partenkirchen (GER)   Discipline   Slalom
Date   13.03.2010   Category   FIS World Cup
Race codex   6765   Gender   L
Valid for FIS Points   YES   TD Name   Bedrac Gorazd (SLO)

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  7  55590 SCHILD Marlies  1981  AUT   56.51  53.06  1:49.57  0.00
 2  6  55838 ZETTEL Kathrin  1986  AUT   57.73  53.04  1:50.77  6.57
 3  1  206001 RIESCH Maria  1984  GER   57.61  53.86  1:51.47  10.40
 4  16  206035 CHMELAR Fanny  1985  GER   58.54  53.10  1:51.64  11.34
 5  5  195972 AUBERT Sandrine  1982  FRA   58.25  53.56  1:51.81  12.27
 6  4  565243 MAZE Tina  1983  SLO   58.23  53.59  1:51.82  12.32
 7  10  505760 PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria  1986  SWE   58.38  53.51  1:51.89  12.70
 8  13  185140 POUTIAINEN Tanja  1980  FIN   58.49  53.53  1:52.02  13.42
 9  8  205168 DUERR Katharina  1989  GER   57.67  54.51  1:52.18  14.29
 9  3  155415 ZAHROBSKA Sarka  1985  CZE   57.56  54.62  1:52.18  14.29
 11  11  206279 GEIGER Christina  1990  GER   58.70  53.76  1:52.46  15.83
 12  24  296354 COSTAZZA Chiara  1984  ITA   59.30  53.24  1:52.54  16.26
 13  21  295435 GIUS Nicole  1980  ITA   59.50  53.09  1:52.59  16.54
 14  27  55576 GOERGL Elisabeth  1981  AUT   58.62  54.00  1:52.62  16.70
 15  22  106527 ACTON Brigitte  1985  CAN   58.78  53.87  1:52.65  16.87
 16  23  55759 KIRCHGASSER Michaela  1985  AUT   58.28  54.87  1:53.15  19.60
 17  17  505679 HANSDOTTER Frida  1985  SWE   59.67  53.66  1:53.33  20.59
 18  20  505610 BORSSEN Therese  1984  SWE   59.91  53.68  1:53.59  22.01
 19  14  385032 JELUSIC Ana  1986  CRO   59.91  53.80  1:53.71  22.67
 20  25  536481 SCHLEPER Sarah  1979  USA   1:00.06  53.81  1:53.87  23.55
 21  26  205993 HOELZL Kathrin  1984  GER   1:00.10  53.79  1:53.89  23.66
 22  9  505483 PAERSON Anja  1981  SWE   1:00.15  54.11  1:54.26  25.68
 23  18  196806 NOENS Nastasia  1988  FRA   1:01.10  53.49  1:54.59  27.49
Did not start 1st run
   12  537544 VONN Lindsey  1984  USA         
Did not finish 2nd run
   19  185271 LEINONEN Sanni  1989  FIN         
   15  296259 MOELGG Manuela  1983  ITA         
   2  206160 RIESCH Susanne  1987  GER