European Report: Paerson looks to regain WC lead; Burtin's season over

European Report: Paerson looks to regain WC lead; Burtin’s season over{mosimage}Anja Paerson is hoping for a repeat of last year’s performances as the women hit Maribor this weekend for a giant slalom and slalom that could push the Swede back into the overall World Cup lead.

Austria’s Renate Goetschl edged into the overall lead thanks to her super G victory and two second place downhill finishes last week at Cortina. Goetschl is counting on help from Austrian teammates Niki Hosp and Marlies Schild to gobble up some of the points if she wants to retain her 71-point overall lead on the Swede.

“I can’t think about the overall yet. Even though I am leading, Anja is still the favorite in the hunt for the overall. She is a powerhouse in the technical disciplines but I expect it to be an interesting duel until the end of the season,” she told the German news agency DPA.

Goetschl has only scored seven points in slalom this season, but ranks 11th in the giant slalom and would be happy to roll out of Maribor with a top-15 in the GS.

“My main goal this season is to win the downhill or super G title. When I look at the standings, I see a hot duel between Hilde Gerg and I in the super G and between Hilde, me and Carole Montillet in the downhill,” she said. “For the overall, we’ll see in a few more weeks.”

Paerson leads the slalom standings and stands second in the GS. A winner of both Maribor races last year, she comes into Slovenia with high expectations.

“This is a big chance for me to earn points,” she said. “It’s important for the overall, but Hosp will be very hard to beat.”

>> Kostelic surgery called successful

Surgeons removed the thyroid gland of Olympic ski champion Janica Kostelic on Wednesday and said she was expected to recover completely in five weeks, the AP reported.

Kostelic, the defending overall World Cup champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, was expected to remain in bed for two days, but leave the clinic within a week, said Dr. Tomislav Anic, whose team performed a two-hour operation in a Zagreb clinic.

“Janica feels fine,” Anic told reporters.

Kostelic was sidelined at the start of this season due to a knee injury, but her expected return to the slopes last month was further stalled after doctors discovered she had developed a thyroid gland disorder.

Anic said Kostelic suffered from hyperthyroidism and Basedov disease, which affected her internal organs and joints. Kostelic’s thyroid gland secreted a hormone at levels three to four times above normal.

“The removal of the thyroid gland won’t have any consequences on her health and her sports career,” Anic said, but added Kostelic would have to take medication all her life.

The head of the Croatian Ski Federation, Vedran Pavelk, said Kostelic would deal with her other health problem — her knee — after she completely recovers from the surgery. She earlier said she planned to be fit and ready for the next skiing season. The Associated Press

>> Season finished for Burtin

French downhiller Nicolas Burtin is out for the season after crashing in Thursday’s downhill and tearing his ACL in his right knee, the French daily L’Equipe reported.

Burtin, 32, was scheduled to return to France on Friday to face the fifth knee surgery of his career. Second in Kitzbuehel in the 1998 downhill, Burtin’s latest injury threatens to end his career. His lone victory came in 1998 Kvitfjell and he’s had knee surgeries in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2001.

>> Guay eyes stronger comeback

While his colleagues are racing at Kitzbuehel this weekend, Canadian downhiller Erik Guay is at home rehabbing his repaired left knee he injured during training Dec. 17 at Val Gardena, Italy.

The 22-year-old underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage in his knee and hopes to return next year stronger and wiser.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people, a lot of skiers, and they all say that an injury makes you wiser and that you can expect to come back stronger mentally,” Guay told the Montreal Gazette. “I hope it’s the case with me. My doctor also told me that my left knee would be stronger than it was before because of the surgery. I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you do the other one at the same time?'”

Guay started the season strong, taking second at November’s downhill at Lake Louise, the first Canadian podium on home soil since 1989.

Guay crashed heavily on a jump during training as the first racer to go down the Saslong course at Val Gardena. While he was being airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital, race officials shaved down the portion of the course where he crashed in order to slow racers. But after the second racer down the hill after that also crashed, training was called off.

“The injury is disappointing, but it’s the sort of thing that happens in sports,” Guay said. “It’s almost expected if you’re a professional athlete and you do it for a long time. If there was a year that I had to do it, it was definitely this year because there are no world championships or Olympics.”

>> Racing this weekend: Men’s downhill Saturday, slalom + combined Sunday, Kitzbuehel, Austria. … Women’s giant slalom Saturday, slalom Sunday, Maribor, Slovenia. … Cross-country men’s and women’s 70km C on Saturday, Moena Cavalese, Italy. … Ski jumping, K120 Saturday and Sunday, Sapporo Okurayama, Japan. … Nordic combined, mass start K120/10km on Sunday, Sapporo, Japan. … Men’s and women’s snowboard halfpipe Saturday, Kreischberg, Austria. … Men’s and women’s dual moguls Saturday, Fernie, B.C. … Men’s and women’s aerials Sunday, Fernie B.C.