Lindsey Vonn won her fifth race of the season, and fourth downhill matching a U.S. record, at Sestriere, Italy Saturday.
    Vonn outclassed the field winning by more than a half second over Canadian Kelley VanderBeek. Italian Nadia Fanchini got third while Renate Goetsch and Nadia Styger tied for fourth
    It is Vonn's ninth career downhill win, matching the U.S. record also shared by Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves.
    The victory also moved Vonn back to the top of the overall World Cup standings, three points ahead of Nicole Hosp.
    Styger, a winner at Sestriere in super G during the 2004 World Cup finals, held the early lead, then was matched by Goetschl, who won the downhill in that same series. But Vonn took the lead at the first timing interval by .51 and expanded that lead at every clocking point down the 2,965-meter course. Later runners VanderBeek and then Fanchini cut the leaders' margin to .62 of a second.
    Vonn, Bode Miller and Denise Karbon are the only skiers to have accumulated five wins this season.
    Perhaps the most stunning move of the day, however, was Nor Am DH champion Chelsea Marshall churning from the 40th start position to finish eighth and claim her first her first World Cup scoring finish.

Lindsey Vonn won her fifth race of the season, and fourth downhill matching a U.S. record, at Sestriere, Italy Saturday.
    Vonn outclassed the field winning by more than a half second over Canadian Kelley VanderBeek. Italian Nadia Fanchini got third while Renate Goetsch and Nadia Styger tied for fourth
    It is Vonn's ninth career downhill win, matching the U.S. record also shared by Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves.
    The victory also moved Vonn back to the top of the overall World Cup standings, three points ahead of Nicole Hosp. Vonn holds a 968-965 lead over Hosp in the overall standings. It's the first time Vonn has led since Dec. 28. Hosp finished 23rd on Saturday.
    Vonn has now won four of the seven downhills this season and — including a super-combined win — has five wins overall this campaign.
    Styger, a winner at Sestriere in super G during the 2004 World Cup finals, held the early lead, then was matched by Goetschl, who won the downhill in that same series. But Vonn took the lead at the first timing interval by .51 and expanded that lead at every clocking point down the 2,965-meter course. Later runners VanderBeek and then Fanchini cut the leaders' margin to .62 of a second.
    Vonn covered the Kandahar Banchetta course in 1 minute, 38.86 seconds. Vanderbeek was second, 0.62 behind, and Fanchini was 0.77 back.
    "I was really nervous today,'' said Vonn, who also led Friday's final training run. "Normally I'm not that fast in training runs. I had a good run yesterday and I know I always have more left in the last day, but, still, it was a little nerve-racking that I had to put down an even better run than yesterday."
    The victory also moved Vonn back to the top of the overall World Cup standings, three points ahead of Nicole Hosp.
    Vonn used a much straighter line than any other skier to cover the 2.965-kilometer (1.84-mile) Kandahar Banchetta course in 1 minute, 38.86 seconds. The race announcer yelled, ''She's a speed train!'' as she came down posting one split time faster than another.
     "She hit her line already in the first day of training," said U.S. speed coach Alex Hodlmoser. "She tried to kill it yesterday in training. And she knew today she would be on faster skis."
    "I took some chances going into the forest," Vonn said. "there's a couple turns in there and I definitely went a little straighter. But I was out of my tuck and just being clean and solid but definitely carrying speed down the fall line.'' 
    Austrian veteran Renate Goetschl finished in a tie for fourth with Nadia Styger of Switzerland with 1:39.71. In the downhill standings, Vonn leads Goetschl 575-323. She could wrap up the downhill title in the next race in Vancouver, British Columbia, later this month.
    Vonn, Bode Miller and Denise Karbon are the only skiers to have accumulated five wins this season.
    Perhaps the most stunning move of the day, however, was Nor Am DH champion Chelsea Marshall churning from the 40th start position to finish eighth and claim her first World Cup scoring finish.
    "That is really exciting," said Hodlmoser. "She was aggressive from the first day of training. She did a great job of finding the line from day one. She got that down right away and kept pushing a little more and a little more. She knew she could full on charge it, and she did."
    Vonn said she was giving an interview for German television when she realized Marshall was on course. She turned and watched her run on the huge finish area screen. "I was screaming like crazy, the GermanyTV guys must have thought I was nuts."
    Marshall said getting Vonn's course report was crucial to her success. "That's what we do," said Vonn. "We help each other. I told her the snow was perfect and that this was her opportunity."
      Missing her opportunity was Julia Mancuso. She lost control at the beginning of her run and nearly fell, raising her right ski high up into the air to regain her balance. She finished 22nd.
    "I don't really know what happened. It happened too fast," Mancuso said. "I hit a bump and it jacked my ski."
    "It was a heat-stopping moment for everybody," said Hodlmoser. "She pulled it off with some real athletic moves, and tried to make it up from there but it threw her balance off for the whole thing and she was not as focused the rest of the way down."
   Mancuso won four races last season but has struggled this season with no victories.
    "I'm just trying to figure out my equipment," Mancuso said. "I've just been having a hard time finding my skis. They're just a little more difficult to turn and it's difficult figuring out what works."

Vonn's goal was to be as good as Picabo
Street, who ended her career in February 2002 at the Salt Lake City Olympics, won a total of nine downhill races in her career, including six during the 1994-95 season on her way to her first of two downhill World Cup titles.
    “It has been a goal of mine to be once as good as her in downhill, Picabo was my great hero and I always dreamed to follow her path,” Vonn explained after her race, “Yet I’m still far from her considering her great achievements at medal events but I’m getting closer.
    “I wish to leave my mark in the history of U.S. ski racing in winning as many races as possible in the coming years. I know that Tamara McKinney, the 1983 overall World Cup champion, won a total of 18 competitions in the early 1980s – now I’m only six wins behind her.   
    “I’m excited about t
his result as I increased my lead in the downhill standings. I have a good chance to secure the title in two weeks at Whistler Mountain with another strong result. It would be so great because I have been fighting for the downhill Cup for a long time now.
    On Sunday, Vonn will try to win her first super G race of the season. After her crash in Lake Louise last December, she didn’t find back her very best form in that specialty. She is currently ninth in the World Cup standings.“
    "It would be important to also excel in super G as I did last winter. I was close to the podium in the last two races but I know I can do better. I would surely need the points to increase my chances in the overall standings. There are still many races left so I don’t think too much about it for the moment. You can’t ski conservative if you want to win it. Nicole Hosp is a tremendous athlete and a big fighter too, so she will certainly not give up prior the Finals.”
   
VanderBeek, Fanchini excited
Vanderbeek was pretty excited too by her performance and her second podium finish this season in downhill. The Canadian was already second to Vonn at St. Anton in December and she was proud to wear a nice tiara on her hat after the race. “We are the speed queens and we are wearing it each time we finish among the top-10,” she explained.
    “So far we are doing much better than the men who called themselves the “Canadian Cowboys”, our results are truly impressive,” she added.
    “To be second to Lindsey on such a course is not a shame, she is on fire right now and almost unbeatable on such a run. I aim to reach the podium in the downhill standings now."
    Fanchini was as surprised as happy with her first podium finish for a long time. The young Italian has only been competing for a few weeks after being forced to rest last fall because of health problems.
    “Our doctors were worried because my heart beat was irregular and they prevent me to train in September but I passed more exams later on and I was able to come back on the circuit two weeks ago at Cortina d’Ampezzo,” she explained.
    “Of course I’m far from my best shape so I didn’t expect this at all. It’s a great boost for my moral and it will help me to improve my standings for the next season.”

Goetschl wants more
Even though she failed again the reach the podium in a downhill, Goetschl was smiling after the race. “I’m getting better, it’s my best result for a long time and I feel more comfortable now on my skis,” she said. “I had fun today, I enjoyed speeding down that course and this is the most important. I still have a few chances left to win again a race this season, but as I said yesterday, it’s not the most important for me right now.   
    “I know I can’t move at my best level after missing several months of training last summer after my knee surgery. The key for good result for me is to have a great time on my skis and this is happening right now. Maybe I can win tomorrow’s super G – I was three times third so far this winter so who knows?"
    Her main rivals should be Emily Brydon, the recent winner at St. Moritz; Riesch, at the top at Cortina d’Ampezzo and her teammate Elisabeth Goergl, twice second in the last three weeks.

   — The Associated Press and Patrick Lang contributed to this story

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's downhill, Sestriere, Italy, Feb. 9, 2008
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Vonn (Kildow), Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
2 VanderBeek, Volkl/Lange/Marker
3 Fanchini, Dynastar/Lange/Look
4 Goetschl, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Styger, Volkl/Lange/Marker
6 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
7 Janyk, Volkl/Lange/Marker
8 Marshall, Dynastar/Lange/Look
9 Gisin, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
10 Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
 
Women's Downhill, Sestriere, Italy, Feb. 9, 2008. … It is the 26th race of the women's 38 event 2008 World Cup schedule. … It is the seventh of 10 scheduled downhills. … It is the 53rd World Cup race held at Sestriere. … The seventh downhill. … Sestriere hosted the World Cup finals in 2004, previous to that it had not held a Cup downhill since 1971. … It is the same slope used for the 2006 Olympic men's downhill.
    It is the 12th career World Cup win for Lindsey Vonn. … Her ninth in downhill, tying the U.S. mark shared by Daron Rahlves and Picabo Street. … It is her fifth win of the season and fourth in DH. … She also won the St Anton combined. … She has finished no worse than fifth in any downhill this season. … It is the 184th U.S. World Cup win and the 11th this season. … Vonn and Bode Miller each have five wins this season, Marco Sullivan added the other win.
    It is the third career World Cup podium for Kelly VanderBeek. … Her second in DH, the other also a second from St Anton Dec. 21. … It is the tenth podium for Canada this season.
    It is the second career World Cup podium for Nadia Fanchini. … The other is also a third place DH result from Lake Louise Dec. 1, 2006. … It is just her third scoring result of the season. … It is the 17th Italian podium this season.
    It is the tenth top 10 result of the season for Britt Janyk. … the sixth in DH. … It is the first World Cup scoring result for Chelsea Marshall and her first top 10. … It was the worst finish of 17 this season for Emily Brydon. … She won her last start in SG at St Moritz. … It is the 22nd scoring result of the season for Julia Mancuso. … She has placed better in six of the seven downhill held. … Three women collected their first points of the season, Marshall, Marion Rolland in 11th and Carmen Casanova in 27th.
    Winning margin is .62 of a second. … Top six are within the same second. … Top 21 within two seconds. … Vonn takes the lead of the World Cup overall standings by three points over Nicole Hosp (23rd in race) 968-965. … Maria Riesch (6th in race) is third at 831 and Elisabeth Goergl (20th in race) is fourth at 787. … Vonn has a commanding lead in the downhill standings 575-323 over Renate Goetschl (fourth in race). … Britt Janyk is third at 300 and Kelly VanderBeek moves to fourth at 272.

Official timekeeper

Did not finish 1st run : MCJAMES Megan (USA)