Kranjska Gora: Schild in shape for slalom win No. 5

Marlies Schild led the first leg of a women's World Cup slalom Sunday, putting the Austrian on target for a back-to-back title and her fifth in the discipline this season.
    Schild crossed the finish line on the icy Podkoren course in 50.15 seconds. Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic was second, trailing by .40 seconds, while fellow Austrian Kathrin Zettel was third, a further .53 behind.
    Schild has won all but one of the five previous slaloms this season, including the last one in Zagreb, Croatia, during the week. Therese Borssen of Sweden, who came in ninth, won the only other title.
    Resi Stiegler was the best-placed American in seventh.

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Marlies Schild led the first leg of a women's World Cup slalom Sunday, putting the Austrian on target for a back-to-back title and her fifth in the discipline this season.
    Schild crossed the finish line on the icy Podkoren course in 50.15 seconds. Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic was second, trailing by .40 seconds, while fellow Austrian Kathrin Zettel was third, a further .53 behind.
    Schild has won all but one of the five previous slaloms this season, including the last one in Zagreb, Croatia, during the week. Therese Borssen of Sweden, who came in ninth, won the only other title.
    Resi Stiegler was the best-placed American in seventh.
    Two-time overall champion Anja Paerson, who has been struggling since knee surgery during the offseason, was sixth.
    The Austrians have dominated women's racing this season, winning 10 of 15 races — including three sweeps of the podium.
    Schild, a technical specialist, leads the overall standings with 697 points, 33 points ahead of her closest competitor — compatriot Nicole Hosp. Zettel is 135 points back in third.
    The World Cup has been plagued by unseasonably warm weather this season. The races in Kranjska Gora were substituted for an event in Maribor, Slovenia, canceled due to a lack of snow.
    The women's circuit continues with a super G and super combi in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria from Jan. 12-14.