defensive. But all in all, it was a good run. I took all the speed I could and I’m happy with this result.”
Third-place finisher Slovenian Tina Maze led the top-ranked skiers as the 12th woman down the course.
She held the lead through the following five racers before being bumped by Hoefl-Riesch, but she took
advantage of her time in front of the TV cameras (see page 3 of this issue). Maze, who also struggled at
the onset of the season, is now enjoying a strong stretch with podium finishes in five of her last eight races.
She stands second in the overall rankings, 291 points behind Vonn in the lead with 884 points and six wins
on the season.
“It was not without mistakes,” said Maze after her run. “I’m really happy about this podium. I was really
aiming to have a podium here. I’m in good form.”
After the race, Vonn and her sister went to Venice for a
short, well-earned break. “For me, if I can’t get the strength,
then I can’t do what I want to do and I don’t trust myself,”
said Vonn. “Confidence and trust are very important things
in my skiing. I have those two things back. I knew what I
had to do to win the race today and I think I executed my
plan well. I’m really happy with the whole weekend.”
Julia Mancuso continued her solid season in fifth with a
thrilling run as she saw the green leader’s split time twice
during her run and finished just under a second behind
Vonn. “It was good,” she said. “In super G, if you make little
mistakes, it’s always hard. I guess it’s a sign that I’m skiing
more fast and I need to be confident all the way to the finish.”
It was another strong day for the U.S. as Vonn and Mancuso led a four-woman charge in the top 15. Leanne Smith
grabbed the third-best result of her career in 10th place
despite a stomach bug that has been passed around the
team. Laurenne Ross landed 13th to earn her second-best
result ever and her top downhill finish.
“I said I’m going to go out and send it and try to be happy
with the outcome even if it’s not very good,” said Smith,
who struggled to eat in the days leading up to the super G.
“I knew you could attack it. There were only a couple spots
to hit.”
After 12 years on the World Cup,
Merighetti brought home her first
victory in Cortina.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Vonn pulled in her sixth win
in Cortina with a dominant
performance in the super G.
