Schild wins World Cup slalom in Lienz; Schleper fifth

It was a day of comebacks in the Audi FIS World Cup women’s slalom in Lienz, Austria, on Tuesday, mainly for Marlies Schild, who at this time last year, wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to race again. Amazingly, she is back on top of her game, winning her first World Cup in more than a year by almost two seconds.

The 28-year-old Austrian was sidelined all of last season after breaking her leg training in Soelden, but, after five operations and more than a year of physical therapy, won a Europa Cup slalom in Italy 11 days ago and has had two other strong finishes in the World Cup so far this season – sixth in the Levi slalom and second in Aspen.

“I still just can’t believe it,” Schild said of Tuesday’s victory, which was the 21st of her World Cup career. “I never expected that this would happen. I never expected to win today. It’s an amazing thing for me. I didn’t expect to have this amazing time. I  thought I could win if I skied well. I never thought [it would be] with such a time. It’s a good moment now to say thank you to my family, also to my doctors, my coaches and physical therapists and trainers, to get back to get to such good shape.”

French racer Sandrine Aubert, who won the last World Cup slalom in Are, in addition to last season’s Are slalom and the slalom before it in Ofterschwang, was second Tuesday, 1.83 seconds behind Schild, followed by Kathrin Zettel, who, with her fifth podium of the season, was third, 2.19 seconds back.

Another comeback story is that of Sarah Schleper, who finished fifth (after Tina Maze in fourth), her best result since her 2005 slalom victory in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Schleper, who was also the top North American in Monday’s giant slalom in 13th even after breaking her helmet (the bright green one) in training the day before, is one of very few 30-somethings on the women’s World Cup circuit (she’ll be 31 in February), and certainly the only one who travels with a toddler.

“I hope I’m inspiring moms and showing them that anything’s possible,” Schleper said after the race, a few minutes of which she spent standing in the leader’s box waving to her son Lasse and husband Federico. “It’s funny now that I’m a mom I’m not so much inspiring little kids to follow their dreams, I’m maybe inspiring moms to be healthy and active.”

After taking a year off to have Lasse, who will be 2 years old in a few months, Schleper has been through a lot the last two seasons trying to get back in top form. Her first World Cup race was in 1995 and she has 37 top-10 finishes. She has had just four podiums and one victory, though, all of which came between 2000 and 2005.

“This result is more than I could hope for,” she said Tuesday. “I’m so close to the podium. It’s great going into an Olympic year. I’ve worked really hard these last two years getting back here.”

Schleper and Lindsey Vonn were tied in 12th after the first run. Vonn was charging in her second run and, like several other racers on the long and icy course, threw down some skids at the bottom of the course which slowed her into an 18th-place finish, which is respectable, considering she was racing in a lot of pain and wearing a splint on her left arm, following a bad crash in Monday’s giant slalom in which she suffered a bone bruise.

“I felt like my hand was getting a little bit worse after the first run but I was fighting in the second run and I thought I skied the top well,” she said. “My hand was feeling OK  but then on the bottom I just started to feel it and I couldn’t concentrate anymore. I just wanted to make it down to the finish and thought if I just ski solid and make it down then I’d be OK but obviously that didn’t work very well. But I made it down and I have a few points and I tried and that’s all I can do. Now I’m going to have a break for a couple days, go see another doctor and see if there’s anything else I can do to make it feel better.”

Vonn is still leading the World Cup overall standings with 594 points. World slalom champion and Cup slalom leader Maria Riesch, who also didn’t have her best race Tuesday finishing 14th, is second in the overall with 549 points.

Brigitte Acton was the only Canadian to finish Tuesday’s race, landing just before Vonn in 17th.

“I’m not super happy about how I raced,” said Acton, who’s had two other top 20 finishes this season in Levi and Are. “The course gets chunky around some gates and then it’s really slick in other parts so you just really have to stand on it and go for it. It’s definitely a longer course. Halfway down I’m ready to stop and have a Red Bull.”

The women’s World Cup moves to Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 3, for a night slalom.

by Shauna Farnell

Click here for a photo gallery of the race.

Images of Schild and Schleper by Gepa

The SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women’s slalom, Lienz, Austria, Dec. 29, 2009
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Schild, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2 Aubert, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
3 Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Maze, Stoeckli/Lange/Rossignol
5 Schleper, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
6 Jelusic, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Zahrobska, Head/Head/Head
8 Geiger, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
9 Pietilae-Holmner, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Moelgg, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

Women’s slalom, Lienz, Austria, Dec. 29, 2009. … It is the 13th race of the women’s 32 race 2009-2010 World Cup schedule. … The fourth of seven scheduled slaloms. … It is the 19th World Cup race at Lienz. … the 11th slalom. … the ninth women’s slalom.

It is the 22nd career World Cup win for Marlies Schild. … Her first since the end of the 2008 season. … Her first career slalom win also came at Lienz Dec. 29, 2005.

It is the fourth career World Cup podium for Sandrine Aubert, the first that was not a win. … All of her podiums have come since March of last season. … It is her second podium this season. … It is the first second place result for France this season among eight team podiums.

It is the 85th career World Cup podium for Kathrin Zettel. … Her fifth this season in nine races scored, though she does not yet have a win this season.

It is the best result for Sarah Schleper since she won a slalom at Lenzerheide March 12, 2005. … She was the only skier starting outside of the top 30 to place among the first 12 in the race. … It is her fifth score of the season, her second top five. … Brigitte Acton matched her fourth best career World Cup result. … The placing matches her best of the season in the Levi slalom Nov. 14. … Those are her best slalom results. … Lindsey Vonn matches her 120th career best result. … It is her ninth scoring result this season.

Vonn maintains the lead of the World Cup overall standings 594-549 over Maria Riesch (14th in race). … Zettel sits third at 489. … Emily Brydon (did not race) is ranked 12th overall with 195pts. … Riesch leads the slalom standings 243-220 over Schild. … Aubert is third at 216. … Vonn is the top American on the slalom list in seventh with 125pts. … Anna Goodman (1st run DNF) is the top Canadian on the list in 14th with 64pts.

RESULTS:

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Run 1	Run 2	Total Time	FIS Points
1	3	55590	SCHILD Marlies	1981	AUT	59.00	58.65	1:57.65	0.00
2	7	195972	AUBERT Sandrine	1982	FRA	1:00.29	59.19	1:59.48	9.33
3	2	55838	ZETTEL Kathrin	1986	AUT	1:00.02	59.82	1:59.84	11.17
4	17	565243	MAZE Tina	1983	SLO	1:00.54	59.45	1:59.99	11.93
5	37	536481	SCHLEPER Sarah	1979	USA	1:01.45	58.98	2:00.43	14.18
6	10	385032	JELUSIC Ana	1986	CRO	1:01.64	59.09	2:00.73	15.71
6	5	155415	ZAHROBSKA Sarka	1985	CZE	1:00.78	59.95	2:00.73	15.71
8	25	206279	GEIGER Christina	1990	GER	1:01.45	59.29	2:00.74	15.76
9	12	505760	PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria	1986	SWE	1:01.11	59.85	2:00.96	16.88
10	21	296259	MOELGG Manuela	1983	ITA	1:01.51	59.63	2:01.14	17.80
11	8	505483	PAERSON Anja	1981	SWE	1:01.41	1:00.04	2:01.45	19.38
12	24	205168	DUERR Katharina	1989	GER	1:02.62	58.86	2:01.48	19.53
13	63	196793	MARMOTTAN Anemone	1988	FRA	1:02.13	59.43	2:01.56	19.94
14	6	206001	RIESCH Maria	1984	GER	1:00.58	1:01.04	2:01.62	20.25
15	56	355040	NIGG Marina	1984	LIE	1:02.75	59.08	2:01.83	21.32
16	16	205993	HOELZL Kathrin	1984	GER	1:01.49	1:00.39	2:01.88	21.57
17	39	106527	ACTON Brigitte	1985	CAN	1:02.27	59.62	2:01.89	21.62
18	4	537544	VONN Lindsey	1984	USA	1:01.45	1:00.62	2:02.07	22.54
19	42	196806	NOENS Nastasia	1988	FRA	1:03.07	59.24	2:02.31	23.77
20	18	505610	BORSSEN Therese	1984	SWE	1:02.49	59.89	2:02.38	24.12
21	58	206355	DUERR Lena	1991	GER	1:03.08	59.68	2:02.76	26.06
22	28	385027	FLEISS Nika	1984	CRO	1:03.28	59.64	2:02.92	26.88
23	11	505679	HANSDOTTER Frida	1985	SWE	1:02.40	1:00.88	2:03.28	28.71
24	61	196928	WORLEY Tessa	1989	FRA	1:03.39	59.99	2:03.38	29.22
25	48	196016	DAUTHERIVES Claire	1982	FRA	1:03.05	1:00.34	2:03.39	29.27
26	44	206099	PERNER Nina	1986	GER	1:02.61	1:00.91	2:03.52	29.94
27	1	185140	POUTIAINEN Tanja	1980	FIN	1:00.04	1:03.61	2:03.65	30.60
28	15	295435	GIUS Nicole	1980	ITA	1:00.47	1:03.52	2:03.99	32.33
Disqualified 1st run
		105269	GAGNON Marie-Michele	1989	CAN
Did not qualify 1st run
		425771	LOESETH Nina	1989	NOR
		515782	ABDERHALDEN Marianne	1986	SUI
		106666	RUBENS Shona	1986	CAN
		715123	NOVAKOVIC Zana	1985	BIH
		515855	GOOD Esther	1987	SUI
		538256	GRANT Sterling	1987	USA
		565320	FERK Marusa	1988	SLO
		205202	MAIR Marianne	1989	GER
		225206	ALCOTT Chemmy	1982	GBR
		56032	SCHILD Bernadette	1990	AUT
		206035	CHMELAR Fanny	1985	GER
		305694	YUMOTO Hiromi	1981	JPN
		515692	GRAND Rabea	1984	SUI
		515587	PUENCHERA Jessica	1982	SUI
		155194	KURFUERSTOVA Eva	1977	CZE
		55576	GOERGL Elisabeth	1981	AUT
		306096	HOSHI Mizue	1985	JPN
Did not finish 2nd run
		315149	LOLOVIC Jelena	1981	SRB
		206160	RIESCH Susanne	1987	GER
Did not finish 1st run
		515997	FEIERABEND Denise	1989	SUI
		205239	WIRTH Barbara	1989	GER
		185271	LEINONEN Sanni	1989	FIN
		55947	FENNINGER Anna	1989	AUT
		516005	HANGL Celina	1989	SUI
		55977	THALMANN Carmen	1989	AUT
		425887	LOESETH Mona	1991	NOR
		425880	SEJERSTED Lotte Smiseth	1991	NOR
		305962	HANAOKA Moe	1984	JPN
		296509	CURTONI Irene	1985	ITA
		385041	NOVOSELIC Sofija	1990	CRO
		185292	ROVE Kristiina	1990	FIN
		55759	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	1985	AUT
		435189	KLUS Aleksandra	1986	POL
		196179	BERTRAND Marion	1984	FRA
		537545	MANCUSO Julia	1984	USA
		205806	BLIENINGER Anja	1981	GER
		515639	CAMASTRAL Aita	1983	SUI
		296354	COSTAZZA Chiara	1984	ITA
		425629	LOESETH Lene	1986	NOR
		565268	DREV Ana	1985	SLO
		515733	BONJOUR Aline	1985	SUI
		537626	RICHARDSON Kaylin	1984	USA
		106633	GOODMAN Anna	1986	CAN
		35079	SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen	1982	ARG
		65038	PERSYN Karen	1983	BEL
		537792	DUKE Hailey	1985	USA
		296008	MERIGHETTI Daniela	1981	ITA
		106825	PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier	1988	CAN
		297233	PARDELLER Sarah	1988	ITA
		505886	KLING Kajsa	1988	SWE
		196725	BARIOZ Taina	1988	FRA
		196726	BARTHET Anne-Sophie	1988	FRA
		705287	ZUZULOVA Veronika	1984	SVK