Weirather with upset win, Maze & Mancuso tie in 2nd

It was a stunning first win for Tina Weirather in the Garmisch super G Friday (March 1), a make-up race from Val d’Isere originally scheduled pre-Christmas. After six podium finishes, Weirather figured it was about time to get up on the top step.

Step two was a bit crowded as Julia Mancuso and Tina Maze deadlocked, just .12 of a second behind the Leichtenstein winner. Mancuso is not about to quit on the slim possibility she could claim the World Cup super G title. With two more super G’s remaining on the schedule, including one at Garmisch on Sunday, Maze has a 65 point cushion over Mancuso for the crown.

Conditions were “a dream” according to several competitors and held up well enough to make for a tight race with the top six within .33 of reach other. Anna Fenninger was fourth, Nicole Hosp fifth and Spaniard Carolina Ruiz Castillo sixth. The US also pounded on the door with Laurenne Ross winning ninth and Leanne Smith 12th.

Weirather was exuberant post race saying she had broken out of a slump. “I am totally happy,” she said. “Today was really a great race from me. I had to struggle in recent weeks and month. I worked hard, I need to get out again. That’s not too easy to get out of a low back.”

Mancuso said her goals were simple. “I want to win races so I’m going to fight for that first. I feel like in order to get a super G title you should win a race so that’s my first goal. And if I hit that goal, then I should have a good chance at staying in there for the chase.”

Mancuso added, “I can’t control what Tina [Maze] does, so I feel like I need to just keep charging for the win and hope for a little luck on the other end.”

Maze, used a success recipe that has already brought her the overall and giant slalom titles, said she simply tries to win every run. “I try to give the gas every time. If you’re so on it then everything seemingly works. It’s an incredible season. I look forward to tomorrow’s downhill and the super G on Sunday.”

Hosp said running in bib one was her toughest problem. “Super G with number one is always a bit tricky because you have no information, but the track is such a dream and my ride was pretty good.” Good enough for her best super G result of the season.

Fenninger was one of the few to criticize the course, saying, “it was very difficult to predict. You had to risk a lot to be fast. Down in the final corner I was far out and I think that cost me the win.” She did allow that, “it was nice to drive.”e the win.” She did allow that, “it
was nice to drive.”

It was a good race for Laurenne Ross, settling in ninth for her fourth career top 10 World Cup finish. “It’s always tough running early and she skied with a lot of confidence even though she was one of the early starters,”said Mancuso. “Leanne (Smith) also skied pretty well. She wants to finish better, but in super G it’s been so tight after the top five. If she’s one hundredth in the other direction, then it’s a top finish for her.” Smith finished 12th.

The SCOOP
by Hank McKee

Women’s World Cup super G, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, March 1, 2013
Equipment
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Weirather, Atomic/Tecnica/Atomic
2 Mancuso, Head/Head/Head
2 Maze, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
4 Fenninger, Head/Head/Head
5 Hosp, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
6 Ruiz Castillo, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
7 Rolland, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
8 Schmidhofer, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 Ross, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Rebensburg, Nordica/Nordica/Marker

Women’s World Cup super G, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, March 1, 2013. … It is a make-up race from the only race postponed to date this season, originally scheduled Dec. 15 at Val d’Isere and cancelled by a heavy snowfall. … It was the third scheduled women’s super G and is the fifth of seven held. … It is the third of five races scheduled for Garmisch this season the first for women. … It is the 96th Cup race hosted at Garmisch.

It is the first career World Cup win for Tina Weirather but her third Cup podium at Garmisch-Partenkirchen having placed third in both the super G and downhill held here last season. … It is her second podium of the season having also placed third in DH at Lake Louise Nov. 30.

It is the 34th career World Cup podium for Julia Mancuso and her 14th in super G. … It is her second Cup podium at Garmisch having won the super G last season. … It is the fourth podium of the season for Mancuso (including a bronze medal at World Championships) all of them coming in super G. … It is the 57th career World Cup podium for Tina Maze. … her 12th in super G. … It is her second Cup podium at Garmisch having won the 2010 GS. … It is her 22nd podium of the season (including three from World Championships) in 33 races contested.

It is the fourth career World Cup top 10 for Laurenne Ross. … her second of the season. … It is the 15th time Leanne Smith has placed in the top dozen of a World cup race. … the sixth time this season. … It is the 74th career scoring finish for Stacey Cook. … her 21st in super G.

Maze leads the World Cup overall standings 1924-910 over Maria Hoefl-Riesch (11th in race). … With eight races remaining she cannot be beaten for the title. … Anna Fenninger (fourth in race) is third with 766pts. … Lindsey Vonn (did not race) is fourth with 740pts, Mancuso fifth with 703pts and Mikaela Shiffrin (did not race) seventh with 638pts. … Marie-Michele Gagnon (38th in race) is top Canadian overall in 22nd with 296pts. … Maze leads the women’s super G standings 370-305 over Mancuso with Vonn in third with 286pts. … With two races remaining only Mancuso can overtake Maze. … Gagnon is top Canadian in 31st with 23pts. … Austria leads the women’s Nations Cup 4037-3050 over the US with Germany in third with 2220. … Canada in ninth with 639pts. … The US leads the super G standings 810-765 over Austria.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER)
FIS World Cup
Ladies’ Super G
March 1, 2013