ALPINE:

Vonn nabs 3rd-straight World Cup downhill win

Jan. 8, 2010          ►Photos: Lindsey Vonn, above; Emily Brydon, below (Agence Zoom)

HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria — Lindsey Vonn won her third straight World Cup downhill Friday and regained the lead in the overall standings from Maria Riesch of Germany. Emily Brydon was 10th to lead the Canadians.

Vonn, the reigning World Cup downhill and overall champion, raced down the Krummholz course in 1 minute, 38.84 seconds to beat Anja Paerson of Sweden by 0.35 seconds. Riesch finished third, 0.39 seconds behind the American star.

''I really attacked today,'' Vonn said. ''It's a great feeling, everything is so smooth. I can't be more happy with my downhill season so far.''

Vonn, who is skiing with a bruised left arm after a crash in Lienz, Austria, last month, hasn't lost in downhill since last February. She hasn't missed the podium in the discipline since February 2008.

''It's not a really difficult downhill here, only if visibility is poor,'' Vonn said. ''In the lower part, the course gets more technically demanding. I really enjoyed my run today.''

Vonn leads the overall standings with 694 points, while Riesch has 659. They are well ahead of the rest of the field, with Kathrin Zettel in third place with 569 points.

''You should be happy with any podium finish,'' said Riesch, who clinched her first World Cup win here six years ago. ''I had no perfect run, though my skis were really fast.''

Paerson finished on the podium for the first time since last February.

''I was aware that we would go a lot faster than in training,'' she said. ''I had to fight and I am happy that I managed to do so well.''

Dominque Gisin of Switzerland was among the fastest starters and was heading for a top-five finish before crashing in a turn. She stood up immediately with no apparent injuries.

The news wasn't as good for Maria Holaus of Austria, who broke her right ankle during prerace warmups. She was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Brydon, who sits fourth in the World Cup downhill standings after three of eighth scheduled races, said the result was a positive, especially considering it follows two training runs in which her top result was 40th position.
 
“This is kind of what I have done this season,” Brydon said. “In the training runs I have been getting a feel for the course, and on race day I step it up another gear. And that’s kind of what happened today. For sure there is more time to find out there and I hope to do it tomorrow.”

Brydon is one of the few skiers to have experience racing World Cups in Haus im Ennstal, which hadn’t hosted a World Cup downhill since 2004. 

“It’s not that difficult of a course, so having some familiarity is not as big of an advantage as if it was more challenging,” Brydon said.
 
With the win, Vonn became the first North American to win the downhill in Haus im Ennstal since Canada’s Gerry Sorensen accomplished the feat Feb. 8. 1981, winning the first of five World Cup downhills in her career.

Britt Janyk placed 31st Friday while Shona Rubens came from bib 60 all the way to 39th place, finishing in 1:41.51. Georgia Simmerling ended up in 51st place.
 
“It’s a little tough starting in the back. From the time we inspect to the time we actually race is about three and a half hours. But that’s ski racing,” said Rubens.
 
“There’s was a lot of good to take out of today and focus on tomorrow. There’s a really tricky section at the bottom that I skied better than I had in training so it’s definitely something to build on,” she added.

Another women's downhill race in Haus im Ennstal is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a super-G on Sunday. SRC

— The Canadian Press and Alpine Canada contributed to this report

Haus im Ennstal women's World Cup downhill No. 1. results