Bormio: Austria's Goergl wins GS; Vonn seventh

BORMIO, Italy — Austria’s Elizabeth Goergl won the women’s World Cup giant slalom Saturday after teammate and first-run leader Nicole Hosp nearly skied off the course in the second run.
    Goergl’s winning time for two trips down the sunny Stelvio course was 2:24.96, just seven hundredths better than Italy’s Manuela Moelgg, whose runner-up finish added to a big day for her country, and her family. Her brother Manfred Moelgg had won the men’s World Cup slalom title about an hour earlier. Kathrin Zettel of Austria finished third in 2:25.26.
    American overall World Cup champ Lindsey Vonn continued to ski well at the World Cup Finals, posting the second fastest second run to move up from 12th to seventh. Her second trip was timed in 1:08.84. Only Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg was faster. With the result, her second best GS of the season, she guaranteed a place in the first seed in GS to start the next World Cup season.

BORMIO, Italy — Austria’s Elizabeth Goergl won the women’s World Cup giant slalom Saturday after teammate and first-run leader Nicole Hosp nearly skied off the course in the second run.
    Goergl’s winning time for two trips down the sunny Stelvio course was 2:24.96, just seven hundredths better than Italy’s Manuela Moelgg, whose runner-up finish added to a big day for her country, and her family. Her brother Manfred Moelgg had won the men’s World Cup slalom title about an hour earlier. Kathrin Zettel of Austria finished third in 2:25.26.
    American overall World Cup champ Lindsey Vonn continued to ski well at the World Cup Finals, posting the second fastest second run to move up from 12th to seventh. Her second trip was timed in 1:08.84. Only Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg was faster. With the result, her second best GS of the season, she guaranteed a place in the first seed in GS to start the next World Cup season.
    “I kind of took the same approach as the slalom yesterday,” Vonn said after the race; she had the fastest second run in Friday’s slalom, to move up from 25th to 11th. “I just put the pedal to the metal and didn’t hold anything back.
    "There's nothing for me to lose out there. I was out there having fun and trying to ski my best. I was actually pretty surprised as I haven’t trained GS in three weeks. It just shows you that when your set-up is right and you’re confident and feeling good anything is possible.”
    Denise Karbon of Italy, who clinched the giant slalom World Cup title more than a month ago, finished eighth on Saturday, 0.11 behind Vonn. "It's a wonderful day for me, for Manfred (Moelgg, the slalom champion), and for the whole ski team. It's perfect."
    She said that finishing eighth had really made her GS globe feel that much more precious. "It reminded me," said the winner of five of the first six giant slaloms this year, "just how hard it really is to win."
    Julia Mancuso, the only other American in the race, skied out early in the first run. She had been fourth in the GS season standings, and was within striking distance of Manuela Moelgg in third. As it happened, she wound up fifth in the GS standings when Tanja Poutiainen of Finland slipped past her with a fifth-place finish in Saturday's race.
    Race winner Elizabeth Goergl finished the season in second place behind Denise Karbon in the GS standings, second to Maria Riesch in super G and fourth in the overall. "Of course this was an amazing end to the season. … We've been working hard for four years and now it's paying off. Finally we get something back."
    To contend again next year in the overall, she said, she'd need to work hard on her downhill. "Lindsey (Vonn) is so strong," she said. "I have a lot to learn from her. And I have a lot of work to do in GS."
    She said Vonn's success, and the success generally of the Americans, Italians, Swiss and other teams, was good for the World Cup. "I love the way the Americans ski," she said, "but we have our own style. Having other  teams do well puts a little spice in the whole circus. I don't think we're doing worse, it's just that the other teams are doing a little better."
  
— Gary Black Jr. contributed to this report

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's Giant Slalom, Bormio, Italy, March 15, 2008
Skier, skis/boots/bindngs
1 Goergl, Head/Head/Head
2 Moelgg, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
3 Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Jacquemod, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
5 Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
6 Schild, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Vonn, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
8 Karbon, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
9 Hoelzl, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
10 Rebensburg, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
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Women's Giant Slalom, Bormio, Italy, March 15, 2008<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–><!–[endif]–>. … It is the 35th and final race of the Women's 2008 World Cup season. … The seventh and final GS and the first GS since Jan. 26. … The women lost three races, a GS and slalom at Zweisel March 1 and 2 and the DH at Bormio March 12. … Four races were relocated, (Levi SL Nov. 10 to Reiteralm, Aspen SG Dec. 8 to Cortina Jan. 21, and Val d'Isere DH and SG to St Moritz Dec. 15 and 16. The Aspen DH was moved back a day. … Denise Karbon won five of the six GS's previously held this season.
    It is the second career win for Elisabeth Goergl, both in GS and the previous from Maribor earlier this season Jan. 12. … She recorded seven World Cup podiums this season, five in GS and two in super G.
    It is the fourth career World Cup podium for Manuela Moelgg, her third in GS. … All of her GS podiums came this season. … Second matches her career best as she has yet to win a Cup race.
    It is the 15th career World Cup podium for Kathrin Zettel. … Her third of the season, all of this season's third place finishes, two of them in GS and one in slalom. … She won two GS's before the end of December last season.
    It is the second best career World Cup GS result for Lindsey Vonn. … Her previous best had been sixth at Ofterschwang earlier this season. … It is the fourth best GS result of six career top 30's for Emily Brydon. … It is the 16th top 30 GS result for Britt Janyk.
    Winning margin is .07 of a second. … Top nine skiers are within the same second. … Top 15 within two seconds. … Lindsey Vonn adds to her World Cup overall standings lead, finishing the season with 1403pts ahead of Nicole Hosp (4th in race) at 1183 and Maria Riesch (DNF 1st) at 1146. … Elisabeth Goergl closes to finish fourth at 1137 and Marlies Schild (6th in race) finishes fifth at 1120. &hell
ip; JuliaMancuso finishes seventh overall with 938pts. … Denise Karbon wins the GS title 592-479 over Goergl. … Manuela Moelgg finishes third at 359 and Tanja Poutiainen (5th in race) fourth at 297. … Austria wins the women's Nations Cup 6557-2763 over the U.S. … Italy is third at 2603 and Switzerland fourth at 2394. … Canada finishes seventh at 1591, behind Germany and Sweden.

Official timekeeper

Did not finish 1st run : VANDERBEEK Kelly (CAN), ZUZULOVA Veronika (SVK), RIESCH Maria (GER), MANCUSO Julia (USA).
Did not finish 2nd run : PAERSON Anja (SWE)

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