ALPINE:

Vonn targets speed points as tour tackles classic Cortina

Jan. 20, 2011

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn is getting tired of flirting with disaster. The Olympic downhill champion and three-time defending overall World Cup winner simply wants to ski clean again.

Several of Vonn's recent races have been marked by near wipeouts and the American nearly went down again in the opening downhill training session for this weekend's three speed races in Cortina, beginning with a super-G on Friday.

"Because of my training this summer I've been able to make really incredible recoveries, but I would really prefer not to have to," Vonn said. "But that's ski racing, and when you're trying to push the limits and trying to ski fast you make mistakes, and if you can recover fast you can still stay in the hunt. But I hope I can get some clean runs down and try not to make any major mistakes."

In the circuit's previous downhill in Zauchensee, Austria, Vonn skied well off course on a sharp right turn but managed to recover in time and win.

She also won despite a wobble near the top of her downhill run in Val d'Isere, France, last month. Before that, Vonn went flying off the course in Lake Louise, Alberta, before recovering, although the mistake cost her the victory and gave away a precious win to German rival Maria Riesch.

In Wednesday's opening downhill training session, Vonn was fastest through the first checkpoint before doing the splits and nearly tumbling head over toes, ultimately placing 29th.

"Yesterday was pretty sketchy," she said. "I almost went over the tips of my skis going like 75-80. ... I was literally a millimeter from hooking my tip in downhill, which is not a good plan ever. So that was definitely scary and I'm trying not to do that again."

When she skis clean in downhill and super-G, Vonn has been virtually unbeatable. Including World Championships and Olympics, Vonn has finished atop the podium in 15 consecutive super-G's, while in downhill she has seven consecutive podiums beginning with her Olympic victory.

Vonn skied without any problems in Thursday's second training session and finished first with a massive 1.37-second gap ahead of second-place finisher Julia Mancuso, her American teammate.

"Today was a better run," Vonn said. "I was clean from top to bottom and no big mistakes, so I'm going to try to do that in the race, and hopefully it will go as well as today."

Canada's Britt Janyk was 26th Thursday in training.

Vonn enters this weekend trailing Riesch by 196 points in the overall standings and she'll be relying on the experience of her eight career podium finishes in Cortina, which includes three wins.

Last year, Vonn swept the downhill and super-G on the Olympia delle Tofane course.

"It's definitely one of my favourite stops. It's always fun to come back," she said. "It's one of those courses where you know it like the back of your hand and you don't have to really think twice about the course. I know what to do and I trust myself, so it makes it fun to push the limits and see what you're capable of doing."

Mancuso has also found success in Cortina, with one victory and five runner-up results, although her last podium finish came three years ago.

Mancuso started this season with three top-six finishes in speed races in Lake Louise, but has struggled since, finishing 16th in both the downhill and super-G in Zauchensee.

"Of course I want to get some more podiums," Mancuso said. "But we're halfway through right now and I think I did everything I could this summer, so I just have to ski fast and hopefully results will come, because I can't control how other people are skiing."

Riesch is perfectly satisfied with her season results, which has included three wins and six runner-up finishes.

"My season is going absolutely perfect so far and I'm just going to keep on trying to do my best every single race," the German said.

Elisabeth Goergl, the Austrian who won two bronzes at the Vancouver Olympics, placed third in the final downhill training and sees no reason why she can't challenge Vonn and Riesch this weekend and at next month's worlds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

"Everybody's trying, but you have got to have a good run to beat those two girls," Goergl said. "But I just focus on myself and on what I have to do. If I ski good then I have a chance."  S-Magazine

— The Canadian Press contributed to this report

Cortina women's World Cup downhill training No. 2 results