Cortina: Holaus wins SG, Mancuso second

Maria Holaus picked up her first World Cup victory Sunday with a Super G win at Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy.
    The first skier out of the gate , as warming temperatures softened the course, Holaus put down a time of one minute, 24.63 then watched nervously as 59 other skiers took their shots at unseating her.
    Julia Mancuso, the winner of the race a season ago, came closest, earning second place 0.23 of a second back while World Cup overall leader Nicole Hosp returned from a brief rest period for third place.

MARIA HOLAUS picked up her first World Cup victory Sunday with a super G win at Cortina d'Ampezzo Italy.
    The first skier out of the gate, as warming temperatures softened the course, Holaus put down a time of one minute, 24.63 then watched nervously as 59 other skiers took their shots at unseating her.
      Julia Mancuso, the winner of the race a season ago, came closest to unseating Holaus, earning second place 0.23 of a second back while World Cup overall leader Nicole Hosp returned from a brief rest period for third place.
    "I've been a couple of hundredths out of second a couple of times this season, so this was nice," said Mancuso. "It was a lot warmer than yesterday and so it was softer. She's skiing pretty well, so it's hard to say [if the start number helped]."
    Holaus' previous best performance was a third-place finish in a downhill in San Sicario, Italy, last season. In the super G, she had not finished higher than her ninth-place result, also in San Sicario a year ago.
    The 24-year-old Holaus was once considered the top young prospect on the Austrian ''Wunderteam.'' Her development was slowed when she lost four years of racing due to three knee injuries.
    ''I was very lucky with my No. 1 bib, No. 1 was the best number for today,'' Holaus said. ''It got warmer and warmer.''   
    Mancuso has finished second four times this season and third twice. Still, the American is third in the overall standings and has a shot at the season's biggest trophy.
    ''I'm still trying to win a race this year, I'm going for that first,'' said Mancuso, who won four races last season.
    The near-misses haven't dimmed Mancuso's flair, which was on display Saturday when she showed up at the public bib draw in a Venetian mask.
    ''I'm just getting excited for Carnival,'' Mancuso said. ''It's coming up soon.''
    America's Lindsey Vonn, Saturday's downhill winner, was fifth, and 0.30 behind Holaus.
    ''I'm so close, only two-hundredths from the podium,'' Vonn said. ''The earlier skiers definitely had an advantage. Maybe I didn't have a light enough touch on the snow.''
   The Canadian women, fresh off a three in the top six performance in Saturday's downhill continued the momentum with Emily Brydon posting fourth and Britt Janyk sixth.
    Renate Goetschl, the Austrian who holds a record 10 wins in Cortina, was faster than Holaus at the final checkpoint but lost time with a mistake on the even warmer bottom section and finished seventh.
    ''I didn't see a gate in time and I had to go uphill a little bit on the flattest part of the course,'' Goetschl said.
    Triple world champion Anja Paerson finished 16th and maintained a slim 151-143 lead on Martina Schild in the super G standings.
    Another super G is scheduled for Monday on the Tofane and Mancuso is confident her breakthrough will come then.
    ''I'm going to rip it,'' Mancuso said.
    American Stacey Cook posted a 13th place and Canadian Kelly VanderBeek 15th.

— The AP contributed to this story

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's super G, Cortina d Ampezzo, Italy, Jan. 20, 2008
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Holaus, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
2 Mancuso, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
3 Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
4 Brydon, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
5 Vonn, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
6 Janyk, Volkl/Lange/Marker
7 Goetschl, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 Ruiz Castillo, Dynastar/Lange/Look
9 Lindell-Vikarby, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Meissnitzer, Volkl/Fischer/Marker

Women's super G, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Jan. 20, 2008. … It is the 20th race of the women's 38 race 2008 World Cup schedule. … It is the third of seven scheduled super G's, with the make-up race from Aspen set for tomorrow. … It is the 72nd World Cup at Cortina. … the 19th super G.
    It is the first career win for Maria Holaus. … Her second podium and just her 11th World Cup scoring result. … She was third in the SanSicario downhill Jan. 27, 2007. … She started first. … Her only other result at Cortina was 13th in the DH yesterday.
    It is the 18th career World Cup podium for Julia Mancuso. … Her fourth in super G. … It is her fifth podium of the season and first in super G. … It is the sixth time she has been second in a World Cup race at Cortina. …. She also won the super G at the site last season.
    It is the 41st career World Cup podium for Nicole Hosp. … Her sixth in super G. … It is her fifth podium of the season, the first not coming in slalom. … It is her third career podium at Cortina, including a second in super G last season. … She won a GS at the site in 2006.
    It is the eighth career top four World Cup result for Emily Brydon and her third of the season, second in two days having been third in DH yesterday. … It is the 40th career top five for Lindsey Vonn. … Her seventh of the season and second in two days having won the DH yesterday. … It is the second consecutive sixth place finish for Britt Janyk, having placed sixth in the DH yesterday. … The result matches her seventh best career mark. … Stacey Cook matches her fifth best career placing in 13th, and matches her best finish this season. … Kelly VanderBeek matches her 21st best career mark. … It is her fourth best result of the season.
    Winning margin is .23 of a second. … Top 18 are within a second. … Top 34 within two seconds. … Hosp maintains the World Cup overall standings lead 759-683 for Lindsey Vonn. … Mancuso is third at 639 and Maria Riesch (18th in race) is fourth at 623. … Anja Paerson (16th in race) holds the lead of the super G standings 151-143 for Martina Schild (17th in race). … Hosp is third at 140, Riesch fifth at 138 with Mancuso and Emily Brydon tied for sixth at 130.

< td class="i0" align="center">CZE 

Did not finish 1st run:

COLETTI Alexandra (MON), AUBERT Sandrine (FRA), KLING Kajsa (SWE), REVILLET Aurelie (FRA), MERIGHETTI Daniela (ITA), GUT Lara (SUI), FANCHINI Nadia (ITA), STECHERT Gina (GER)

Disqualified 1st run:

SCHILD Marlies (AUT)