LA MOLINA, SPAIN — Lindsey Vonn enters the giant slalom on Saturday with a chance to join an exclusive club — becoming only the fifth woman to earn World Cup wins in all five disciplines.
Vonn, a former Ski Club Vail product, became the first American woman in 25 years to win the overall World Cup trophy last season. The downhill specialist earned her first slalom win last month in Levi, Finland, plus a career-best fourth in the giant slalom in Aspen.
Next, she’s aiming to join an elite group who’ve climbed the top of the podium in all five World Cup disciplines.
“It’s not something I’m thinking about every day, but it’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Vonn said Friday.
Austria’s Petra Kronberger, Croatia’s Janica Kostelic and Swedish duo Pernilla Wiberg and Anja Paerson have achieved the feat since super-G was introduced in 1982.
On the men’s side, Bode Miller is among the five skiers to have won in all five disciplines.
Six-time overall champion Annemarie Moser-Proll of Austria had a total of 62 wins in downhill, GS, slalom and combined between 1969-80, before super-G was introduced.
Vonn, originally from St. Paul, Minn., wouldn’t mind seeing her name added to the list of the sport’s most versatile skiers.
“That’s what I want to do in my career, leave a legacy,” the 24-year-old Vonn said. “I want people to remember me as a great skier and someone who excelled in all five events. If I’m able to win in all five that would be incredible. It’s just really hard to do it.”
Vonn leads the overall standings with 358 points, followed by Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen (260) and Germany’s Maria Riesch (202).
Hosp, the overall 2007 champion, is second behind Vonn in the slalom standings.
“I’m not used to that at all,” Vonn said of her rise in the technical disciplines. “Usually in slalom no one cares what I do.
“Before I was lucky to get into the top 30, but now I’m wearing the red leader’s bib which is incredible.”
Vonn credits her improvement in the slalom to better conditioning, boosted by hours of weight training and bicycling in the offseason.
“It’s hard because you want to keep your best wins at the top but you also want to get the technical events too, and it’s a really fine line and hard to balance everything,” Vonn said. “You have to have a great summer preparation and have a great feeling on the day.”
Vonn said she felt good about the free practice Friday on the 0.62-mile giant slalom course, which features only a few bumps on the well-settled snow.
Olympic silver medalist Poutiainen, defending giant slalom champion Denise Karbon of Italy, Lara Gut of Switzerland and Austrian pair Kathrin Zettel and Nicola Hosp are part of a deep field in the first women’s World Cup event to be held in the Spanish Pyrenees.
American skier Julia Mancuso enters following a seventh-place showing in the giant slalom at Aspen. France’s Tessa Worley, coming off a giant slalom win at Aspen, also stands in Vonn’s way.
“I’m not thinking about these things, I’m just going to try and do what I normally do and hopefully it all works out like at Aspen,” the 19-year-old Worley said. “I’m just hoping for top 10.”
Nadia Fanchini of Italy will try to maintain her momentum after a super-G win at Lake Louise last week.
