ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Vail’s Lindsey Vonn saw her perfect downhill season end Saturday when her skis hit a hole and she finished fifth in a World Cup race won by Maria Riesch of Germany.
Riesch clocked 1 minute, 41.31 seconds on the Corviglia piste to close the gap on Vonn to 61 points in the overall World Cup standings.
Vonn, who had six straight wins including the final downhill race of last season, finished 1.21 back. The American lost speed and nearly lost her balance after her skis struck a hole in the snow, coming out of a tight right-hand corner in the second half of the course.
“It was definitely dangerous,” said Vonn, who raced after her friend Riesch and equaled her time at the first check. “There are a lot more bumps on the course today. I lost my direction and barely made my next gate. I was pretty close to going out there.”
The damage appeared to have been created by racing in the super-G portion of Friday’s super-combined event. Vonn was one of several racers to find trouble at the same spot.
“I’m a little upset that there had to be this hole from (Friday) and I just wish it could have been a more fair race,” Vonn said. “Definitely the early runners had an advantage, but that happens. That’s life.”
Riesch improved her result after skiing out in the super-combined on Friday, when she misjudged her racing line.
“It’s an important success for me, to have the feeling that I can win,” said Riesch, who was twice runner-up when Vonn won the season’s first five downhills. “This last victory before the (Vancouver) Olympics is very important.”
Ingrid Jacquemod of France finished second, 0.79 of a second behind Riesch, and Fabienne Suter of Switzerland trailed by 0.96 in third.
Hirscher wins, Ligety third
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Marcel Hirscher of Austria won a World Cup giant slalom, while U.S. star Ted Ligety finished third on a bumpy course the day after his victory in the same event.
Hirscher earned his second win of the season with a flawless second run on the Pod- koren 3 course to finish in a combined time of 2 minutes, 31.30 seconds.
“It’s still nice to make it to the podium again,” said Ligety, who won the past three giant slaloms on Podkoren. “I felt pretty bad the whole way down in the first run. It was hard to find the rhythm. The snow is pretty bumpy.”
With one World Cup giant slalom remaining, Ligety leads the discipline standings with 352 points.
Hirscher was 0.47 of a second back in fifth after the opening leg.
“It’s unbelievable, just awesome,” said the 20-year-old Hirscher, who won his first career title in December, a GS in Val d’Isere, France. “I think this was maybe the best giant slalom run I’ve ever had.”
Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who led going into the final run, was 0.45 back in second for his best career World Cup result.
The Associated Press
