Rebensburg embraces mistakes for Maribor GS victory

By Published On: January 30th, 2016Comments Off on Rebensburg embraces mistakes for Maribor GS victory

If you had walked out of a hotel in Maribor, Slovenia, this morning, you likely would have thought your overnight sleep was in fact a winter hibernation, and you blissfully slept through until spring.

Not the case.

Mid-winter on the women’s World Cup circuit felt like mid-April, boasting 50 degree temperatures and one lone strip of snow for the weekend’s race courses. Maybe it’s a prediction that Punxsutawney Phil is unlikely to see his shadow in just a few days. 

The t-shirt weather made for challenging snow conditions, mixing a hard top layer with sugary snow beneath. The winner, Viktoria Rebensburg, was challenged by her second run start position, 29th.

MARIBOR,SLOVENIA,30.JAN.16 - ALPINE SKIING - FIS World Cup, Maribor, giant slalom, ladies. Image shows Viktoria Rebensburg (GER). Keywords: Stoeckli. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek“It was bumpy top to bottom. But I think it was better on the second run, the slope, as compared to the first run,” the German said. “The snow was more wet and the salt was more combined to the snow.”

The run was so bumpy that the result surprised Rebensburg, who felt she made mistakes all the way down the course and wondered if she would make it to the finish. Her result on the day moves her in third in the overall standings — behind Lara Gut and Lindsey Vonn, who both crashed in the second run. 

Coming in second for the second time in a row was local golden girl, Ana Drev. This was her second career podium — just two weeks after her first in Flachau, Austria. The hometown crowd embraced their new ski hero due to the absence of Tina Maze this season, cheering on Drev.

MARIBOR,SLOVENIA,30.JAN.16 - ALPINE SKIING - FIS World Cup, giant slalom, ladies. Image shows Ana Drev (SLO). Photo: GEPA pictures/ Markus Oberlaender“When I came to the steep part, when I approach(ed) the finish area, it was amazing feeling,” said Drev. “It was so loud that I just tried to concentrate on my skiing, not to hearing the people, so when I saw the green light in the finish area, it was just a relief.”

The race remained close until the very end with less than a tenth of a second between second and fourth place at the end of the day. Austria’s Eva-Maria Brem could not hold onto her first run lead, sliding in just behind Lichtenstein’s Tina Weirather and barely missing the podium. Brem was able to maintain her lead in the giant slalom standings with her fourth-place finish.

“It was a really tough race,” Weirather explained. “I was really concerned between the first and the second run because the bib number 25, 26 looked terrible in the first run and I didn’t know how to do it. It was really sketchy. … I think I just tried to ski with instincts not with thinking too much, and it worked.”

First run knocked many of the athletes around as the course deteriorated quickly. The cut off to make the flip was nearly six seconds out, practically unheard of on this circuit barring a Shiffrin-esque historical margin of victory. Compare that to the recent giant slalom in Flachau, a course of similar length – running about one minute and twelve seconds in time –where athletes had to be under three seconds from the leader’s time to qualify.

The pretty weather did not make for pretty skiing from American independent skier Megan McJames, who was unable to finish first run.

The excitement continues tomorrow with a slalom on the same Slovenian slope, where U.S. Ski Team up-and-comer Lila Lapanja will chase more World Cup slalom points in her father’s home country.

Stay current on the World Cup circuit by downloading the U.S. Ski Team iOS app powered by Ski Racing here.


The Scoop
by Hank Mckee

  1. Rebensburg, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
  2. Drev, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
  3. Weirather, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  4. Brem, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
  5. Loeseth, Volkl/Lange/Marker
  6. Pietilae-Holmner, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
  7. Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
  8. Fanchini, Dynastar/Lange/Look
  9. Bassino, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
  10. Prefontaine, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
  • Women’s World Cup giant slalom, Maribor, Slovenia, Jan 30, 2016 … The Golden Fox World Cup for Women. … It is the 23rd of 41 races on the women’s 2016 schedule … the seventh of nine scheduled GSs. … It will be the 66th time Maribor has hosted a World Cup race … the 28th GS. … Anna Fenninger is the defending champion.
  • It is the 12th career World Cup win for Viktoria Rebensburg, her second of the month having also won the Flachau GS Jan. 17. … She was second at Maribor last season. … The winning margin is 0.32 of a second. … Top four skiers are within the same second. … Top 15 within two seconds.
  • It is the second career World Cup podium for Ana Drev, and second of the month having also placed second at Flachau Jan. 17.
  • It is the 24th career World Cup podium for Tina Weirather … her sixth in GS. … It is her fourth podium of the season, third in GS.
  • It is the fourth career World Cup top 10 for Marie-Pier Prefontaine, all of them coming in GS. … It is her best showing of the season. … It is the 40th time Marie-Michele Gagnon has been 11th or better in a World Cup race. … Just the seventh time in a GS.
  • Lindsey Vonn (DNF 2nd) leads the World Cup overall Standings 900-855 over Lara Gut (DNF 2nd). … Rebensburg moves to third overall with 680pts.
  • Eva-Maria Brem (fourth in race) leads the GS standings 442-410 over Rebensburg. … Gut is third with 362pts. … With only two races remaining, just six skiers are currently in mathematical contention for the GS title.
  • Austria leads the women’s Nations Cup standings 2837-2254 over Italy. … Switzerland is third with 2073pts. … The U.S. is fourth at 1744 and Canada ninth with 751pts.

Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time Diff. FIS Points
 1  1  205218 REBENSBURG Viktoria 1989 GER  1:13.22  1:16.60  2:29.82  0.00
 2  8  565268 DREV Ana 1985 SLO  1:14.15  1:15.99  2:30.14  +0.32  2.09
 3  2  355050 WEIRATHER Tina 1989 LIE  1:14.07  1:16.09  2:30.16  +0.34  2.22
 4  4  55898 BREM Eva-Maria 1988 AUT  1:12.85  1:17.38  2:30.23  +0.41  2.68
 5  3  425771 LOESETH Nina 1989 NOR  1:13.70  1:17.16  2:30.86  +1.04  6.80
 6  11  505760 PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria 1986 SWE  1:14.84  1:16.18  2:31.02  +1.20  7.85
 7  13  55759 KIRCHGASSER Michaela 1985 AUT  1:16.02  1:15.02  2:31.04  +1.22  7.98
 8  14  296729 FANCHINI Nadia 1986 ITA  1:15.75  1:15.38  2:31.13  +1.31  8.57
 9  18  299276 BASSINO Marta 1996 ITA  1:15.67  1:15.75  2:31.42  +1.60  10.47
 10  21  106825 PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier 1988 CAN  1:16.18  1:15.28  2:31.46  +1.64  10.73
 11  24  105269 GAGNON Marie-Michele 1989 CAN  1:16.86  1:14.67  2:31.53  +1.71  11.19
 12  12  296259 MOELGG Manuela 1983 ITA  1:14.91  1:16.65  2:31.56  +1.74  11.38
 13  25  425929 MOWINCKEL Ragnhild 1992 NOR  1:17.89  1:13.73  2:31.62  +1.80  11.77
 14  22  297910 CURTONI Elena 1991 ITA  1:16.71  1:14.94  2:31.65  +1.83  11.97
 15  10  296509 CURTONI Irene 1985 ITA  1:15.15  1:16.55  2:31.70  +1.88  12.30
 16  28  55977 THALMANN Carmen 1989 AUT  1:18.18  1:13.91  2:32.09  +2.27  14.85
 17  33  565331 LAVTAR Katarina 1988 SLO  1:17.44  1:14.66  2:32.10  +2.28  14.91
 18  30  516280 HOLDENER Wendy 1993 SUI  1:17.18  1:14.95  2:32.13  +2.31  15.11
 19  20  297702 MARSAGLIA Francesca 1990 ITA  1:17.13  1:15.24  2:32.37  +2.55  16.68
 20  6  196928 WORLEY Tessa 1989 FRA  1:14.36  1:18.21  2:32.57  +2.75  17.99
 21  16  196725 BARIOZ Taina 1988 FRA  1:15.67  1:17.01  2:32.68  +2.86  18.71
 22  27  196793 MARMOTTAN Anemone 1988 FRA  1:18.30  1:14.46  2:32.76  +2.94  19.23
 23  29  196726 BARTHET Anne-Sophie 1988 FRA  1:17.74  1:15.62  2:33.36  +3.54  23.16
 24  39  485731 ROMANOVA Anastasia 1993 RUS  1:18.31  1:15.08  2:33.39  +3.57  23.35
 25  45  516268 WILD Simone 1993 SUI  1:18.62  1:15.40  2:34.02  +4.20  27.47
Did not start 1st run
 58  305944 KIYOSAWA Emiko 1983 JPN
 54  565373 ROBNIK Tina 1991 SLO
Did not qualify for 2nd run
 61  565320 FERK Marusa 1988 SLO
 59  185430 HONKANEN Riikka 1998 FIN
 57  435334 GASIENICA-DANIEL Maryna 1994 POL
 56  705423 VLHOVA Petra 1995 SVK
 55  197616 ALPHAND Estelle 1995 FRA
 52  197215 MASSIOS Marie 1992 FRA
 51  56315 TRUPPE Katharina 1996 AUT
 50  197651 DIREZ Clara 1995 FRA
 48  565360 STUHEC Ilka 1990 SLO
 47  206444 HOESL Simona 1992 GER
 46  298124 AGNELLI Nicole 1992 ITA
 44  307493 ANDO Asa 1996 JPN
 41  56087 SIEBENHOFER Ramona 1991 AUT
 40  197124 FRASSE SOMBET Coralie 1991 FRA
 37  298694 PICHLER Karoline 1994 ITA
 36  107387 CRAWFORD Candace 1994 CAN
 35  56174 HAASER Ricarda 1993 AUT
 34  225525 TILLEY Alexandra 1993 GBR
Did not finish 2nd run
 32  306249 HASEGAWA Emi 1986 JPN
 31  56128 HUETTER Cornelia 1992 AUT
 15  537544 VONN Lindsey 1984 USA
 9  505679 HANSDOTTER Frida 1985 SWE
 7  516138 GUT Lara 1991 SUI
Did not finish 1st run
 63  385101 ZBASNIK Lana 1999 CRO
 62  665009 SHKANOVA Maria 1989 BLR
 60  506146 SWENN-LARSSON Anna 1991 SWE
 53  565471 HROVAT Meta 1998 SLO
 49  538284 MCJAMES Megan 1987 USA
 43  56241 SCHNEEBERGER Rosina 1994 AUT
 42  206355 DUERR Lena 1991 GER
 38  155699 PAULATHOVA Katerina 1993 CZE
 26  505886 KLING Kajsa 1988 SWE
 23  56217 BRUNNER Stephanie 1994 AUT
 19  298323 GOGGIA Sofia 1992 ITA
 17  197319 BAUD MUGNIER Adeline 1992 FRA
 5  297601 BRIGNONE Federica 1990 ITA

Share This Article

About the Author: Gabbi Hall

A California native, Gabbi moved to Vermont to ski on the NCAA circuit for St. Michael’s College, where she served as team captain and studied journalism. Before joining Ski Racing, she worked as a broadcast TV producer and social media manager in higher education. She can be reached via email at gabbi@skiracing.com