Tarvisio, Italy – Julia Mancuso had two long-term goals growing up as a skier – winning an Olympic gold medal and hoisting the overall World Cup trophy.
The Californian accomplished one at last year’s Turin Olympics, winning the giant slalom. And on Sunday, in this far northeastern corner of Italy, the second moved closer to reality.
Mancuso moved atop the overall World Cup standings for the first time by finishing third in a super-giant slalom, her third consecutive top-three result of the weekend. It was the first time in 24 years that an American woman had led the standings at any time during a season.
“It was always my dream to win the Olympics. My other dream was to win the overall as a kid. Maybe that’s why it’s happening,” she said.
But Mancuso isn’t alone atop the standings with six races remaining this season.
Renate Goetschl won her record 17th super-G by more than a second to join Mancuso in the overall lead. She skied the 1.2-mile Prampero course in 1 minute, 18.66 seconds. Austrian teammate Nicole Hosp was second, 1.01 behind, and Mancuso was third, 1.22 back.
Goetschl and Mancuso are tied with 1,199 points each. Hosp is third with 1,183. Another Austrian, Marlies Schild, finished 12th and dropped from first to fourth overall with 1,170 points.
Mancuso is attempting to become the first American woman to win since Tamara McKinney in 1983. The closest an American has been to the top since then was two races into the 1993 season, when Julie Parisien was one point behind leader Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden.
When Mancuso won gold at the Olympics last year, she had never won a World Cup race. Now she has four victories this season, and a shot at winning the large crystal ball awarded to the overall champion. She could win the overall title despite not winning any of the discipline titles.
Goetschl already clinched the downhill and super-G titles, Schild has locked up the slalom and super-combi crowns, and Hosp has a 36-point lead on Tanja Poutiainen in the giant slalom standings with two races left.
Only six races remain this season – two technical events in Zwiesel, Germany, next weekend and four races at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the following week.
“It’s going to come down to being fast at the last race,” Mancuso said. “It’s funny to think back to the races where I had absolutely terrible results and think, wow, that could have made the difference.”
Men: World champion Mario Matt won his second straight slalom, and Benjamin Raich finished second to reclaim the lead in the overall standings.
Matt, who trailed Raich after the opening leg by 0.04 of a second, raced down the twisting track in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, in a combined time of 1:40.64. Raich made it an Austrian 1-2 finish, 0.61 behind Matt. Manfred Moelgg of Italy was third, 0.96 behind.
Bode Miller, who has completed two straight World Cup slaloms after failing to finish any for more than a year, was 23rd in 1:43.89. The only other American to finish both legs was Ted Ligety, who was 25th.
