Aspen – In the first 38 seasons of the World Cup, skiers from Spain won only five races: Blanca Fernandez Ochoa won four times in the mid-1980s and early ’90s, and her older brother Francisco won once in 1974.
Now the land of bullfighters and flamenco dancers boasts the world’s hottest giant slalom racer: Maria Jose Rienda Contreras. Her win Saturday on the historic Aspen track gave her three wins in the past four GS races, including the last two of last season, and firmly established her as a medal contender in the Turin Olympics.
Francisco Fernandez Ochoa won a gold medal in slalom at Sapporo in 1972, and Blanca took bronze in slalom in 1992 at Albertville. People back home are starting to realize Rienda might be in their class.
“A lot of people ski, but it’s more for fun than competition,” Rienda said. “Now with my victories, I start to go on television. People start to know the Spanish (can) win.”
Rienda had the fastest first run time Saturday and held off two-time World Cup winner Anja Paerson of Sweden, who advanced from fifth to second with a brilliant second run. Kathrin Zettel of Austria, a three-time world juniors medalist who is 19, finished third to claim her first World Cup podium in her 14th start.
The home team struggled in what is its weakest discipline. Julia Mancuso, the 21-year-old Californian who won a bronze medal in the world championships last season, was 12th. Slalom specialist Kristina Koznick was the only other American to qualify for a second run, finishing 24th. Kristen Mielke of Dillon, 23, made her second World Cup start and missed qualifying for a second run by five-hundredths of a second.
“I wouldn’t call it the weakest (discipline),” said U.S. slalom/giant slalom coach Trevor Wagner. “We have a lot of potential in it. It’s the weakest on paper.”
Rienda raced 11 seasons on the World Cup without distinction. She has become a force since last February.
“It is difficult to explain,” said Rienda, 30. “I work in the past so hard. In Spain it is difficult when you are young to win, because we are a little late (to mature) technically. In Spain, juniors are not at the level technically, compared to the rest of Europe.”
Contrast Rienda with Paerson, who won a slalom world title at age 19 and her second World Cup overall last season at age 23. Pearson has 26 World Cup wins and six world championships medals, four gold. In the Salt Lake Olympics, she won a silver medal in giant slalom and bronze in slalom.
“I won the overall two times, and felt coming into this season I had one goal I could set for myself: to win a gold medal in the Olympics, because that’s the only thing I’m missing,” Paerson said. “I have a big pressure on myself and I’m going to try to do my best. I know the Swedish people really want me to come back as a champion.”
Mancuso had a reasonable alibi for Saturday’s mediocre performance: She misplaced her racing boots, which were last seen in Lake Louise a week ago. She’s been racing here in new boots, which are stiff and overly responsive.
“When you get new boots, the plastic isn’t as worn in, so they are a little more aggressive,” Mancuso said. “I have a different (boot) liner and footbed, it’s only my second day on them, so the whole position my foot is in the boot is not what I’ve been training on all summer. The first run I was a little bit timid, but I made it down OK (11th); I felt like I was in good striking position. In the second run, I was just charging (but) my boots didn’t seem very forgiving.”
Ski Club Vail’s Lindsey Kildow, an all-event racer who is exceptional in the speed disciplines and decent in slalom, was last in the first run.
“I’m not a GS skier,” Kildow said with a laugh. “I don’t really care about today. I went so far out of the course there was no chance. I was poling back in. I still have to learn better tactics in GS. I don’t really do well in the rhythm changes, something I have to work on.”
Kildow can be a factor in today’s slalom because she grew up racing on tiny Buck Hill near Minnesota’s Twin Cities before moving to Vail.
“I didn’t grow up skiing GS,” Kildow said, “not even when I went to Vail. I have to work at it. It just fluctuates with how much training I’ve had before a race.”
