BORMIO, Italy — I’ve been holding off defending champion Nicole Hosp of Austria for the World Cup overall lead, but now that we’re on the brink of the finals, there’s a new No. 2 on my heels: Maria Riesch of Germany, my best friend on the tour.
I think it’s great. It actually makes for a fun finals. I’ve spent the past three Christmas holidays with her and her family in Germany, and one summer she spent 10 or 11 days with me vacationing in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
We’re great friends and want each other to succeed. We like competing against each other, and what happens on the hill stays on the hill.
It’s great that she’s doing so well. She’s had a lot of injuries in recent years — she blew out a knee racing in Aspen two years ago — and I’m really excited for her.
She’s really down-to-earth, she has great values, and she’s a really straightforward person who is always kind. We always talk on the hill and give each other tips. She’s not the kind of person who is going to give you bad advice and stab you in the back. It’s great to have such a good friend on the World Cup.
I picked up 160 points last weekend, winning a downhill and finishing third in a super- combined. I’m really happy with the way the weekend went. It was a big step in the right direction. I just have to continue working hard. I can’t relax. My lead isn’t that great, considering that we have four races left. It’s going to be a challenge and a good fight until the end.
Maria will be tough to beat in super-G and slalom. Hosp could win the slalom and giant slalom, and she has been on the podium in super-G.
My best chances to rack up points this week will be in downhill — I’ve already clinched the season title — and super-G. We race downhill Wednesday, super-G Thursday, slalom Friday and giant slalom on Saturday.
I have to get a lot out of the downhill and super-G so I don’t put too much pressure on my slalom and GS.
There’s almost more pressure here than there would be at the Olympics or world championships because you’ve worked all season to win this title, and it’s all coming down to four races.
Lindsey Vonn, a former Ski Club Vail member who leads the World Cup overall standings, reports regularly from the tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
