Vonn, McKennis open World Cup Finals with fastest training runs
MERIBEL, France – The World Cup arrived in the French Alps for the last race week, and the ladies were the first in action as they got to test the downhill track on Monday.
Downhill World Cup leader Lindsey Vonn clocked the quickest time down the 2,563-meter track in 1:31.42. Her teammate Alice McKennis came in second, 0.58 seconds behind, while Lara Gut of Switzerland finished third at 0.72 back.
Vonn skipped the giant slalom race in Are, Sweden, in order to train super G in Méribel last week and get a feel for the slope. She wasn’t able to race in Feb. 2013, the last time the World Cup tour stopped in the famed ski resort, as it was right after she sustained her knee injury at the World Championships in Schladming.
“It’s my first time racing downhill on this track,” said Vonn. “It’s always tough to get in the rhythm when you have a brand new course. So I am happy with my run today and definitely looking forward to a lot of racing this week.”
The course was described as fast and open by the athletes.
“I definitely love the speed,” Vonn explained. “That’s something I have always loved. It was a really fun course, it definitely has some terrain in it. Generally speaking, it’s a little bit less turny on the top. There are some key and difficult turns in the middle, but in general it’s a pretty high speed course, which definitely suits my style and also most of the girls on our team.”
“It’s a really good hill,” added McKennis. “It flows very well with the terrain. The top is pretty open and pretty flat, but there are some good rolls. You pick up quite a bit of speed once you get into the steep pitch in the middle. It all links really well. It’s more open than what we are typically used to. It’s kind of fun just to let it go.”
The ladies are scheduled for a second and final downhill training on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday’s race.
Release courtesy of FIS
Results
1 | 20 | 537544 | VONN Lindsey | 1984 | USA | 1:31.42 | |
2 | 2 | 538685 | MCKENNIS Alice | 1989 | USA | 1:32.00 | +0.58 |
3 | 10 | 516138 | GUT Lara | 1991 | SUI | 1:32.14 | +0.72 |
4 | 16 | 565243 | MAZE Tina | 1983 | SLO | 1:32.23 | +0.81 |
5 | 6 | 55690 | HOSP Nicole | 1983 | AUT | 1:32.50 | +1.08 |
6 | 15 | 55947 | FENNINGER Anna | 1989 | AUT | 1:32.51 | +1.09 |
7 | 13 | 537582 | COOK Stacey | 1984 | USA | 1:32.72 | +1.30 |
8 | 18 | 495318 | RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina | 1981 | SPA | 1:32.75 | +1.33 |
9 | 3 | 296427 | SCHNARF Johanna | 1984 | ITA | 1:33.03 | +1.61 |
10 | 11 | 355050 | WEIRATHER Tina | 1989 | LIE | 1:33.09 | +1.67 |
11 | 5 | 296729 | FANCHINI Nadia | 1986 | ITA | 1:33.11 | +1.69 |
12 | 1 | 245066 | MIKLOS Edit | 1988 | HUN | 1:33.25 | +1.83 |
13 | 9 | 538573 | ROSS Laurenne | 1988 | USA | 1:33.43 | +2.01 |
14 | 19 | 56128 | HUETTER Cornelia | 1992 | AUT | 1:33.66 | +2.24 |
15 | 14 | 296472 | FANCHINI Elena | 1985 | ITA | 1:33.81 | +2.39 |
16 | 21 | 55970 | SCHMIDHOFER Nicole | 1989 | AUT | 1:33.86 | +2.44 |
17 | 12 | 515747 | GISIN Dominique | 1985 | SUI | 1:33.95 | +2.53 |
18 | 8 | 515766 | SUTER Fabienne | 1985 | SUI | 1:33.99 | +2.57 |
19 | 17 | 55576 | GOERGL Elisabeth | 1981 | AUT | 1:34.44 | +3.02 |
20 | 4 | 565360 | STUHEC Ilka | 1990 | SLO | 1:34.71 | +3.29 |
21 | 7 | 106849 | YURKIW Larisa | 1988 | CAN | 1:38.06 | +6.64 |