Austria's Schild wins again

SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA, ( 09/01/2005 16:00 ) Italy (AP) _ Austria's Marlies Schild won a slalom race Sunday for her third World Cup victory this season, staking a claim as one of the top technical specialists on the circuit. Schild covered the new Deborah Compagnoni course in a two-run combined time of one minute, 29.96 seconds, moving up from third after the first run. First-run leader Kristina Koznick of the United States finished second, 0.15 behind, for her second podium of the season. Germany's Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer came third, 0.24 back, after posting the second-fastest time in the opening run.
"This run is not really that difficult, but I think that makes it more difficult to win," Schild said. "More skiers can ski well on a course like this." Schild won a giant slalom and slalom on consecutive days in Semmering, Austria, on Dec. 28 and 29. Tanja Poutiainen of Finland came in sixth and widened her lead in the overall World Cup standings. Poutiainen's rivals, Janica Kostelic and Anja Paerson, did not finish. Kostelic missed a gate and skied off the course 25 seconds into her first run.
"My ski slipped and my body was going one way and my skis another and that was it," the Croat said, adding that her injured right knee was bothering her. Paerson, 25th after the first run, pushed hard in the second and also skied off course. "I think this week was not meant to be," said Paerson, who injured her hip in training on Friday. Poutiainen leads the standings with 706 points, Kostelic has 613 and Paerson has 579.
"I'm sure they will be back. We'll see what the standings look like after two super-Gs and two downhills in Cortina next week," said Poutiainen, who does not race super-G or downhill. "I'm not thinking about the overall. My goal is to win the giant slalom and slalom cups." Poutiainen also leads the giant slalom and slalom standings. Schild is second to Poutiainen in the slalom standings and fifth in GS. Koznick, fourth in the slalom standings, skied relatively pain-free for the first time since injuring her ribs in a crash at St. Moritz last month. "I've been hurt the last couple of weeks," Koznick said. "(My ribs) may be fractured. But last night I felt good for the first time in a while.
"I went for it. One of my goals this year was for me to win a first run and I did that and then I went up there second run and went as fast as I could go." Koznick's fellow American, 19-year-old Resi Stiegler, stood fifth after the first run but had a problem with her goggles in the second and ended up 17th. Sunday's race was the first slalom held on the course that will host the world championships from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13. Men's races for the worlds will be held in nearby Bormio.  

Slovenia's Maze wins giant slalom
 
SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA, ( 08/01/2005 14:35 ) Italy (AP) _ Slovenia's Tina Maze won a World Cup giant slalom Saturday to claim her second victory this season. The 21-year-old covered the new Deborah Compagnoni course in a two-run combined time of two minutes, 36.78 seconds, maintaining her first-run lead while most of the other top finishers from the morning faltered in their second trip down the shady course. "It was the first time I led after the first run and so I was a little bit nervous," Maze said. "I just tried to ski like in training. I knew that some of the girls were making mistakes. There were some points where you had to ski really carefully." Two Canadian skiers joined Maze on the podium. Genevieve Simard finished second, 1.16 seconds behind, and Allison Forsyth was third, 1.22 back. Tanja Poutiainen of Finland finished sixth and retained her lead atop the overall World Cup standings with 666 points. Defending overall champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, who fell and injured herself in training on Friday, tied Poutiainen for sixth and remained third overall with 579 points. "I hurt my hip bone and there is bleeding around it. I didn't know if I could race today," Paerson said. Croatia's Janica Kostelic, second overall with 613 points, came in 22nd after posting relatively slow times in each of her runs. Kostelic may have been tired from securing top-10 finishes in two downhills on Thursday and Friday. Nicole Hosp of Austria, who was second and trailed Maze by a narrow 0.02 seconds after the first run, fell near the end of her second trip down. Another Austrian, Michaela Kirchgasser, third after the first run, made a mistake at the end of her second run and finished 13th. The win was Maze's third overall. She won a giant slalom in St. Moritz last month and claimed her first World Cup victory in a giant slalom at Soelden in 2002, which she shared in a three-way tie with Norway's Andrine Flemmen and Hosp. Maze also came third in a super-G at Altenmarkt on Dec. 11. Saturday's race was the first giant slalom held on the course that will host the world championships from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13. Men's races for the worlds will be held in nearby Bormio. "It will be nice to come back here and have a good feeling," Maze said.  

France's Jacquemod wins downhill for first World Cup victory 
 
SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA, ( 07/01/2005 14:42 ) Italy (AP) _ France's Ingrid Jacquemod upstaged the favorites Friday to win a women's downhill for the first World Cup victory in her nine-year career. The race was originally scheduled to take place in Jacquemod's hometown of Val d'Isere but moved to the site of the upcoming world championships due to a lack of snow at the French resort last month. "Maybe it was better that they moved the races from Val d'Isere," Jacquemod said. The 26-year-old covered the newly inaugurated Deborah Compagnoni course in 1 minute, 40.29 seconds.

Defending downhill World Cup champion Renate Goetschl of Austria, still seeking her first victory this season, finished second, a narrow 0.11 seconds behind. Another Frenchwoman, Carole Montillet-Carles, took third, just 0.12 seconds back. "It's great to have two French skiers on the podium," Jacquemod said. Lindsey Kildow of the United States finished fourth, 0.44 seconds behind, and kept her lead atop the downhill standings. Michaela Dorfmeister, winner of Thursday's downhill here, finished a disappointing 16th. The world titles will be held at Santa Caterina _ and nearby Bormio for the men's races _ from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13.  
 

Austria's Dorfmeister wins downhill for 18th World Cup victory
 
SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA, ( 06/01/2005 15:31 )Italy (AP) _ Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister won a downhill Thursday for her 18th World Cup victory in a race that marked the debut of the course for the upcoming world championships. Dorfmeister covered the 2.563-kilometer (1.6-mile) Deborah Compagnoni piste in 1 minute, 41.66 seconds. Lindsey Kildow of the United States came in second, 0.40 seconds back, for her third podium finish of the season Germany's Hilde Gerg, who won the season's previous downhill, was third, 0.53 seconds behind. With her second victory this season after a super-G in Lake Louise, Canada on Dec. 5, the 31-year-old Dorfmeister is showing she is still one of the top speed racers on the circuit.

Dorfmeister said she skied well "from start to finish." "Yesterday after training I was a little down because I didn't go that fast," she said of her 15th-fastest training time. "So I'm happy, even though I don't like this course too much, there are too many turns." Last season, Dorfmeister did not win a single race and in August she severely bruised her left leg in a training accident in New Zealand. Now, however, she is focused on the worlds that will be held at Santa Caterina _ and nearby Bormio for men's races _ from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13.

Besides being a favorite in the downhill, Dorfmeister will also attempt to defend her world title in the super-G. "My goal is to win a medal at the worlds for sure," she said. Dorfmeister, or "Michi" as her fan club refers to her, was also pleased to see the 20-year-old Kildow on the podium again. "It's good because last year I didn't see many young girls doing well. It makes it a little bit fresher to have new faces on TV," the Austrian veteran said.

Kildow, who won the opening downhill of the season on Dec. 3, was excited to have reclaimed the lead in the downhill standings from Gerg and hence the red bib of discipline leader. "It's important. It makes everyone know you've been winning and you're the one to beat," she said. "It's something to keep and frame at home. I've only worn it once before, but hopefully it will become more of a usual thing." "I wanted to win, but I've still got tomorrow," Kildow said of another downhill scheduled for the Compagnoni course Friday. Gerg, who finished second in the downhill standings last season, was not so focused on the red bib.

"At the end of the season it's important. I don't know about now," she said. Defending World Cup downhill champion Renate Goetschl of Austria came in fourth after posting the fastest time in Wednesday's training session. Janica Kostelic, who specializes in the more technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom, finished an impressive seventh and moved ahead of Sweden's Anja Paerson into second place in the overall standings. Paerson, who is also a technical specialist, was 30th. Overall leader Tanja Poutiainen of Finland does not compete in downhill. Thursday and Friday's races were originally scheduled for Val d'Isere last month, but were canceled due to too much snowfall at the French resort. A giant slalom and slalom will be held here Saturday and Sunday, both moved because of a lack of snow in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Taking into account the four races scheduled for Cortina d'Ampezzo next week, the rescheduling has grouped together eight races in two weeks, including four downhills, the most strenuous discipline. Defending overall champion Paerson was not pleased by the changes. "I hope I have some power left in my legs" she said, referring to Saturday and Sunday's technical events, where she will be favored. "(Downhill) takes a lot out of your legs. It's not good to have 20 percent of the races in two weeks. Eight races are too many. It's crazy. It may force me to skip some races and I don't like that."  

World championship course made for 'real downhillers,' skiers say
 
SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA,  ( 05/01/2005 17:25 ) Italy (AP) _ The new women's course for the world championships is fast, full of turns and made for "real downhillers," skiers said after racing the layout for the first time Wednesday. Named for Olympic champion and Santa Caterina native Deborah Compagnoni, the course is getting an early debut this week with four World Cup races moved because of snow trouble elsewhere.

Wednesday's downhill training session will be followed by downhills on Thursday and Friday, a giant slalom Saturday and a slalom Sunday. The worlds will be held at Santa Caterina _ and nearby Bormio for men's races _ from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13. While it was only training, the leader board Wednesday may be indicative of how much the course favors pure downhillers. Defending World Cup downhill champion Renate Goetschl of Austria posted the fastest time of 1 minute, 40.86 seconds.

Two-time World Cup downhill champion Isolde Kostner of Italy was second, 0.19 seconds behind, and Lindsey Kildow, the American who won this season's opening downhill, was third, 0.84 seconds back. "It's great, there are a lot of turns and it's very technical, you have to start well and get your speed up before the technical parts," Goetschl said. "Up top is very fast, maybe faster than any of the other courses." More than half of the 2.563-kilometer (1.6-mile) course is above the tree line. The bottom section was recently cut through a forest.

"There is good visibility up top," Kostner said. "The bottom, when the sun is out, could be shady in among the trees, which will make it much more difficult." A tricky series of turns greets skiers 500 meters after the start, before entering a long straight section where speeds can reach 120 to 130 kph (75 to 80 mph). After the straightaway, the course descends into the trees and the undulations of the former forest floor test skiers' fitness. "You have to work top to bottom," Goetschl said in a comment similar to the way male skiers describe Bormio's Stelvio course.

The 20-year-old Kildow, already considered one of the top downhillers, labeled the course "awesome." "It's really fast, high speed turns, really technical and high speed," she said. "It will really separate the people who are going for it. You have to attack. It's best for people who know speed, the real downhillers." After winning in Lake Louise, Canada on Dec. 3, Kildow finished fifth behind German winner Hilde Gerg in the season's second downhill a day later, giving up the discipline leader's red bib to Gerg. "I want it back," Kildow said authoritatively.

No downhills have been held since Lake Louise. Thursday and Friday's races were originally scheduled for Val d'Isere last month but canceled due to too much snow. Saturday and Sunday's races were moved here because of a lack of snow in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Overall World Cup leader Tanja Poutiainen of Finland does not compete in downhill. Defending overall winner Anja Paerson, currently second overall, finished 38th in Wednesday's training, nearly four seconds behind Goetschl.

The Swede was exhausted after her maiden trip down the Compagnoni course. "I'm tired. I'm not used to downhill," Paerson said. "Right now I don't have such a good feeling." "I'm going to try to go really fast in super-G. For downhill I don't have any expectations." Paerson will be more of a favorite in her preferred disciplines of giant slalom and slalom over the weekend. So will Croatia's Janica Kostelic, who is third overall. Kostelic, who finished eighth in training Wednesday, had a mixed reaction to the course. "It's fast and bumpy and very technical, but it lacks jumps," she said.
By ANDREW DAMPF 

General Standing 
  
World cup Leader

Poutiainen Tanja
06.04.1980 (Rovaniemi)
Ski: Volkl 
 
  Poutiainen Tanja  706
  Kostelic Janica  613
  Paerson Anja  579
  Dorfmeister Michaela  507
  Gerg Hilde  436
  Schild Marlies  436
  Kildow Lindsey C.  434
  Gotschl Renate  417
  Maze Tina  351
  Montillet Carole  308  

Next Races
11.01.2005 Adelboden (SUI) GS
12.01.2005 Cortina (ITA) SG
14.01.2005 Wengen (SUI) K
14.01.2005 Cortina (ITA) SG
15.01.2005 Wengen (SUI) DH
15.01.2005 Cortina (ITA) DH
16.01.2005 Wengen (SUI) SL