ALPINE SKI. Courchevel, France - Marlies Schild (AUT) continues to dominate the ladies‘ slalom in the FIS World Cup. The reigning World Cup and world champion took her second season win with a whopping margin of 1.87 seconds over Tanja Poutiainen (FIN) who took 2nd and 2.19 ahead of teammate Kathrin Zettel (AUT) who finished 3rd. Like Lindsey Vonn in the speed events, Schild seems to ski in a different category from her slalom peers at the moment. Fifth-ranked Tina Maze (SLO) was already 3.6 seconds behind the dominator.

Austria's Marlies Schild competes on her way to set the fastest time during the first run of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Courchevel, France, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

In the French Alps, Schild led by 0.34 over Maria Höfl-Riesch after the first run. Lamenting that she could have skied more aggressively, Schild nonetheless had a comfortable lead especially after all three of her nearest challengers – Maria Höfl-Riesch, Maria Pietilä-Holmner and Veronika Zuzulova – failed to finish the 2nd run.

“I am not sure why I am so much faster than the others. I am feeling good and I just try to concentrate on my run and ski as best as I can. And it seems to be working very well right now.”

Marlies Schild has not truly been beaten in slalom in the last two years, provided she has finished the race, with the exception of the Lenzerheide World Cup finals in March 2011 where she finished 2nd behind Tina Maze.

2nd after 1st run, Maria Höfl-Riesch hurt her left knee in the first run and worked with physiotherapy in between the runs. “I got a hit on my extended left knee as I was sliding with my weight on the right foot. Let’s hope it is nothing serious.” Skiing under pain medication, Höfl-Riesch went out in the 2nd run and rushed to take care of the injury with an initial diagnosis suspecting some level of damage to the ligaments and meniscus.

Due to heavy snowfall with more than a meter of fresh powder in Courchevel during the week, Saturday’s slalom had to be cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday. The course crew put in long hours again on Saturday and Sunday morning and was able to present a solid course this morning.
“It was definitely the right decision to move the slalom to today. I want to thank everyone here in Courchevel for their efforts to hold the race today,” said winner Schild.

All in all, the Austrians delivered a strong team result today, with 3 ladies in the top 4 and 4 in the top 9. Kathrin Zettel rose to the podium thanks to a strong 2nd run.
“It was quite difficult out there today. They have worked hard to prepare the slope but it was still tough,” she said. “My goal was to ski smooth in the first run and not to attack too much. So I lost a lot of time. But since it became another podium for me I am happy. It has been a long way for me to come back from my injury.”

When asked whether there is a way to beat Marlies Schild, Zettel said: “Marlies is the world's best slalom skier and she seems to have turned on yet another gear on top of what she had last season. Maybe we can beat her with more training, but I’m not sure.”

The top of the podium in the Courchevel slalom did not change much from 2010 to 2011. Marlies Schild also won in 2010, with Tanja Poutiainen as runner-up. After having narrowly (0.10 sec) missed the podium in 4th place in the season opening slalom in Aspen, Tanja Poutiainen was satisfied with her race: "It went really well for me today. The course held really quite well especially in the 2nd run. They have done an excellent job here. In the first run I was lucky too as the top group benefited from much better visibility. But that's how it is - this is an outdoor sport. It was the same top two here last year, Marlies won and I was second. And we are now moving to Flachau where I won last year so let's keep this going."

The organizers in the French high-class resort of Courchevel spared no effort to stage a top-level World Cup despite the formidable challenges presented by the weather. Atle Skaardal, FIS Chief Race Director, praised the local team: "This week and the races have really been a lot of work especially for the team on the hill - a big thank you for all their efforts. Everyone here should be very happy about today's race which was a good one in the end. Even in uncertain and difficult conditions they could deliver an event with a good crowd and nice atmosphere. With its engagement, Courchevel has clearly positioned itself as one of the strongest organizers on the ladies Audi FIS Ski World Cup tour."

FISalpine.com
Sunday 18 December 2011