Kranjska Gora: Hosp tops Gius, Poutiainen in GS

Nicole Hosp took advantage of falls from her top rivals to win a women's World Cup giant slalom Saturday and her first title of the season. Nicole Gius of Italy, who started in 26th position, came in second, 0.43 seconds behind, while Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, the 2005 slalom and giant slalom champion, placed third, another 0.14 seconds back.

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Nicole Hosp took advantage of falls from her top rivals to win a women's World Cup giant slalom Saturday and her first title of the season.
    The Austrian, who had placed second four times coming into the race, kept her lead from the first leg to finish with a total of 2 minutes, 9.85 seconds on the difficult Podkoren course, which is a regular stop on the men's circuit.
    ''I've fought very hard this season and had a lot of second places, so I'm very happy about this race,'' Hosp said.
    Nicole Gius of Italy, who started in 26th position, finished second, 0.43 seconds behind, while Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, the 2005 slalom and giant slalom champion, placed third, another 0.14 seconds back.
    Libby Ludlow was the only American in the top 30, finishing 14th after starting in 55th.
    Chemmy Alcott of Britain, who started back in 38th, surprised the field by coming in third after the first run, but she could not emulate her good rhythm or line when she came out onto the piste again and wound up 16th.
    The Austrians have dominated women's racing this season, winning 10 of 15 races — including three sweeps of the podium.
    ''Everybody is skiing very good compared to last season. Maybe the secret is we keep pushing each other,'' Hosp said.
    However, Kathrin Zettel, who won both the previous giant slaloms, hooked a gate with her wrist and did not finish the first run, as did another favorite, Marlies Schild, who slid off a tight gate.
    Olympic champion Julia Mancuso of the United States was another casualty from the top flight in the first leg. She started first out of the hut, but slid wide off the tricky course after hitting an icy patch at the top.
    World giant slalom champion Anja Paerson, who has been struggling since knee surgery during the offseason, made a big mistake at the top section in the opening leg and had her work cut out in the second for a podium chance. Instead of her trademark aggression, she looked weak and wobbly, dropping back into 12th from ninth.
    The day was a bit of a downer for U.S. women's gate coach Chris Knight. "It was a pretty disappointing morning," he said, "but a great result for Libby. It's her best and we can't complain about that. I think she worked out some things for herself and knows how fast she can go and now that she's got that feeling, she'll be able to do it again."
    But Ludlow as the only U.S. finisher left Knight frustrated. "The first run was a tricky set and [Mancuso] was carrying too much speed coming into this delay over a blind roll," he said. Mancuso, the top-ranked U.S. GS skier, went off-course, hiked to try and salvage the run but finished well back and did not earn a second run.
     "She's in such good form I don't think it will knock her back," Knight said. "And Resi [Stiegler] was right in there even starting 57th. If she had skied the bottom the way she skied the top she would have been 18th or 19th in that first run." Stiegler was four-hundredths from getting a second run, finishing 31st.
   The victory was Hosp's sixth career win and fourth in the giant slalom, putting her atop of the discipline standings with 230 points after three races. Although the Austrian all-rounder previously finished second four times, she said she never gave up hope of victory this season.
    ''I was starting to think about always coming second, but I knew I would win this year,'' Hosp said, shrugging off claims that reaching the podium was made easier in a field weakened by the absence of retired overall champion Janica Kostelic and injury-returning Paerson. ''It's always tough and new girls are coming up, making it more and more difficult. Women's skiing is still really good. There are so many girls who ski strong.''
    Among the really good was Canadian Genevieve Simard. She used the fifth fastest second run to overcome a so-so opening heat and finish 13th. "I was happy with my second run," she said. "It was set much more the way I like, with big sweepy turns. So it gave me a lot of motivation and was a good opportunity for me. The second run tapped into my potential and I believe this is just the start for me. Now I have to keep improving and building confidence."
    The World Cup has been plagued by unseasonably warm weather this season. The race in Kranjska Gora substituted for a race in Maribor, Slovenia, canceled due to a lack of snow.
    The women's circuit continues with a slalom on the same track on Sunday.

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THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's GS, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Jan. 6, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/binding
1 Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
2 Gius, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
3 Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
4 Hoelzl, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
5 Goergl, Blizzard/Lange/Marker
6 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Zahrobska, Head/Head/Tyrolia
8 Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 Pietilae-Holmner, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Moelgg, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol

Women's giant slalom, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Jan. 6, 2007. … Race and a sister slalom set Jan. 7 were moved from Maribor, Slovenia, due to a lack of snow. … It is the 15th race of the women's 37-event schedule. … It is the third of eight giant slaloms on the women's schedule, though the Sölden opener is not being rescheduled. … A traditional men's stop, Kranjska Gora has not hosted women since Mateja Svet won both a slalom and GS Jan. 30-31, 1988.
    It is the sixth career win for Nicole Hosp. … her fourth in GS. … It is her first win of the season after posting four second-place finishes (Levi and Aspen slalom, Reiteralm SG and Semmering GS).
    It is a career-best result for Nicole Gius and her second podium following a third place in a night slalom at Semmering Dec. 29, 2002. … Her previous-best GS result had been fifth at Alta Badia on Dec. 13, 2003. … Her best result of the season previous to this was 16th in GS at Aspen, Nov. 6. … It is the best result of the season for Italian women, and the seventh Italian podium for both genders combined.
    It is the 20th career podium for Tanja Poutiainen. … Her ninth in GS. … It is her second podium of the season and second in GS, having also placed second at Aspen.
    Genevieve Simard ties her second-best result of the season in 13th, matching Aspen's GS, but well behind her fifth from the Lake Louise SG. … It is a career-best GS result for Libby Ludlow and matches her seventh-best career result in all disciplines. … The result also matches her best (of three) mark of the season with the Reit
eralm SG.
    Second-ranked Nicole Hosp closes the gap on Marlies Schild (DNF first) to 697-664. … Kathrin Zettel (DNF first) is third on the list at 562. … Lindsey Kildow, who elected not to start, remains as the top American on the overall list in fourth at 448. … Hosp leads Zettel in the GS standings 230-200. … Tanja Poutiainen is third at 169. … Top American is Julia Mancuso in eighth with 86 points. … Winning margin is .43 of a second. … Top four are within the same second. … Top 11 within two seconds.

Kranjska Gora women's GS results

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Run 1	Run 2	Total Time	FIS Points
1	2	55690	HOSP Nicole	1983	AUT	1:03.70	1:06.15	2:09.85	0.00
2	28	295435	GIUS Nicole	1980	ITA	1:04.32	1:05.96	2:10.28	2.91
3	7	185140	POUTIAINEN Tanja	1980	FIN	1:03.98	1:06.44	2:10.42	3.86
4	22	205993	HOELZL Kathrin	1984	GER	1:04.69	1:05.84	2:10.53	4.61
5	8	55576	GOERGL Elisabeth	1981	AUT	1:04.50	1:06.60	2:11.10	8.47
6	14	55750	FISCHBACHER Andrea	1985	AUT	1:04.90	1:06.28	2:11.18	9.01
7	30	155415	ZAHROBSKA Sarka	1985	CZE	1:04.52	1:06.79	2:11.31	9.89
8	13	55759	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	1985	AUT	1:04.27	1:07.05	2:11.32	9.96
9	10	505760	PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria	1986	SWE	1:04.99	1:06.41	2:11.40	10.50
10	11	296259	MOELGG Manuela	1983	ITA	1:04.49	1:06.97	2:11.46	10.91
11	12	505187	OTTOSSON Anna	197 6	SWE	1:04.98	1:06.82	2:11.80	13.22
12	3	505483	PAERSON Anja	1981	SWE	1:04.60	1:07.27	2:11.87	13.69
13	6	106056	SIMARD Genevieve	1980	CAN	1:05.85	1:06.34	2:12.19	15.86
14	55	536884	LUDLOW Libby	1981	USA	1:05.53	1:07.13	2:12.66	19.04
15	34	55675	ZEISER Daniela	1983	AUT	1:04.83	1:07.96	2:12.79	19.92
16	38	225206	ALCOTT Chemmy	1982	GBR	1:04.24	1:08.80	2:13.04	21.62
17	37	565315	ROBNIK Mateja	1987	SLO	1:06.06	1:07.02	2:13.08	21.89
18	51	705287	ZUZULOVA Veronika	1984	SVK	1:06.28	1:06.84	2:13.12	22.16
19	9	195671	JACQUEMOD Ingrid	1978	FRA	1:05.64	1:07.51	2:13.15	22.36
20	35	196179	BERTRAND Marion	1984	FRA	1:05.22	1:07.94	2:13.16	22.43
21	46	315149	LOLOVIC Jelena	1981	SRB	1:05.64	1:07.99	2:13.63	25.62
22	19	565268	DREV Ana	1985	SLO	1:06.24	1:07.49	2:13.73	26.29
23	44	296769	LONGHINI Hilary	1986	ITA	1:05.79	1:07.95	2:13.74	26.36
24	39	515692	GRAND Rabea	1984	SUI	1:05.65	1:08.15	2:13.80	26.77
25	4	565243	MAZE Tina	1983	SLO	1:05.32	1:08.53	2:13.85	27.11
26	25	196026	SANTON Aurelie	1982	FRA	1:06.11	1:08.08	2:14.19	29.41
27	24	505632	LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica	1984	SWE	1:06.27	1:07.97	2:14.24	29.75

Did not start 1st run:
JELUSIC Ana (CRO), KILDOW Lindsey C (USA)

Did not finish 1st run:
COSTAZZA Chiara (ITA), FERNSEBNER Carolin (GER), WEIRATHER Tina (LIE), AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi (SUI), ACTON Brigitte (CAN), GOETSCHL Renate (AUT), MEISSNITZER Alexandra (AUT), SCHILD Marlies (AUT), ZETTEL Kathrin (AUT)

Did not finish 2nd run:
BERTRAND Olivia (FRA), PUTZER Karen (ITA)

Disqualified 2nd run:
KARBON Denise (ITA)

Did not qualify 2nd run:
KIRKOVA Maria (BUL), ROBNIK Petra (SLO), SUTER Fabienne (SUI), HANSDOTTER Frida (SWE), KOBAL Ana (SLO), BRYDON Emily (CAN), JANYK Britt (CAN), GINI Sandra (SUI), STIEGLER Resi (USA), LOESETH Lene (NOR), RABIC Urska (SLO), RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina (SPA), BARIOZ Taina (FRA), CICCONE Caitlin (USA), DETTLING Andrea (SUI), HRSTKOVA Lucie (CZE), MCJAMES Megan (USA), LEINONEN Sanni (FIN), CHMELAR Fanny (GER), COOK Stacey J (USA), ALFIERI Camilla (ITA), KELLEY Jessica C (USA), RIESCH Maria (GER), KELLY Gail (CAN), STYGER Nadia (SUI), MANCUSO Julia (USA)

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Women's GS standings (after 3 of 7 races)
1. Nicole Hosp, Austria, 230 points.
2. Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 200.
3. Tanja Poutiainen, Finland, 169.
4. Michaela Kirchgasser, Austria, 137.
5. Kathrin Hoelzl, Germany, 105.
6. Nicole Gius, Italy, 95.
7. Maria Pietilae-Holmner, Sweden, 90.
8 Julia Mancuso, United States, 86.
9. Anna Ottosson, Sweden, 82.
10. Manuela Moelgg, Italy, 74.
11. Ingrid Jacquemod, France, 66.
12. Denise Karbon, Italy, 65.
13. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 62.
14. Marlies Schild, Austria, 60.
15. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 56.

Women's overall standings (after 15 of 33 races)
1. Marlies Schild, Austria, 697 points.
2. Nicole Hosp, Austria, 664.
3. Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 562.
4. Lindsey Kildow, United States, 448.
5. Renate Goetschl, Austria, 441.
6. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 408.
7. Julia Mancuso, United States, 361.
8. Michaela Kirchgasser, Austria, 314.
9. Tanja Poutiainen, Finland, 308.
10. Sarka Zahrobska, Czech Republic, 260.
11. Ingrid Jacquemod, France, 254.
12. Therese Borssen, Sweden, 252.
13. Ana Jelusic, Croatia, 241.
14. Andrea Fischbacher, Austria, 205.
15. Maria Pietilae-Holmner, Sweden, 192.