LA MOLINA, Spain — Lindsey Vonn moved back to the top of the World Cup standings Sunday with a slalom performance that showed she has the all-around talent to become the first American woman to win back-to-back overall titles.
Only Germany’s Maria Riesch was better than Vonn, with the 24-year-old German using a blistering final run to secure her first slalom win in nearly five years.
But Vonn’s runner-up performance kept her atop of the slalom standings. She is 30 points ahead of Riesch, her best friend, following a victory at Levi, Finland, and a fourth-place finish in Aspen.
Another strong showing showed Vonn’s not just a speed specialist.
“It was a great end to the weekend,” the Ski Club Vail product said. “I’m so comfortable on my skis right now in slalom, and I’ve been really consistent and never had that before in slalom.”
The 24-year-old Vonn, the first American woman to win the overall title since Tamara McKinney in 1983, passed Tanja Poutiainen of Finland for the overall lead with 438 points. The Finn is 38 points back after finishing sixth and Riesch is third, 110 behind.
Vonn was disqualified Saturday after running off an “aggressive” giant slalom course on her first run. She remains committed to improving her fortunes in the one event where success has so far eluded her.
“Despite yesterday, I learned from my mistake,” Vonn said. “I hate watching second runs and not being there and that really got me fired up going into today.”
Continuous snowfall, fading light and dipping temperatures had top skiers completing the short course at least five seconds slower than in the morning.
Vonn was too conservative on her first run and sat in fourth place, but rebounded to lead until Riesch’s final run.
Vonn was pleased after some suggested that her first slalom win came down to an easier course.
“I showed I’m definitely a slalom skier, and I’m going to be in there competing every day,” said Vonn, who stepped onto the podium for the 34th time. “Little things like that help to get me fired up and prove everybody wrong.”
Riesch, who led after the first run, nearly skidded off the top section but recovered to finish in 59.17 seconds and win with a combined time of 1:52.98, 1.48 seconds better than Vonn. Kathrin Zettel of Austria was third in 1:55.34.
The women’s circuit moves to St. Moritz, Switzerland, next weekend for a downhill, giant slalom and super-combined.
Men’s race called off
VAL D’ISERE, France — The men’s World Cup slalom race was canceled because of heavy wind.
The strong crosswinds created “potential risks for the racers, officials and spectators,” the International Ski Federation said in a statement, adding that a potential replacement date would be announced “as soon as possible.”
