ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn enjoyed a victory of sorts Sunday in her bid to retain the World Cup overall title.
Her seventh-place finish in a giant slalom won by France’s Tessa Worley at windswept St. Moritz might not seem like much. But it was the best result in nearly two years in what is easily the weakest discipline for the Vail skier.
Vonn moved 24 points closer to early leader Maria Riesch in the race for the crystal globe trophy. Riesch, Vonn’s good friend and rival, finished an uncharacteristic 19th.
Worley won by 0.01 seconds for the second consecutive week following her giant slalom victory at Aspen. She covered the two runs on the Corviglia course in 2 minutes, 10.70 seconds to edge Tanja Poutiainen of Finland. Tina Maze of Slovenia was third, 0.31 behind. Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley, Calif., was eighth.
“For me, this is a good day with some great points all round,” Vonn said after improving from 16th in the first run. “I’m moving up in the rankings, and I’m happy with that.”
Vonn narrowed Riesch’s lead to 526-381 in the overall standings after the German’s worst result of the season. It broke Riesch’s streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes in World Cup events dating to January.
“I haven’t got a top-10 in GS since last year in Soelden,” Vonn recalled, without requiring a stats book that also shows she’s never finished on a World Cup GS podium.
Vonn, the three-time defending overall champion, said her aggression paid off after she reflected on her morning race. The afternoon’s second leg was delayed an hour because of gusty crosswinds that forced Saturday’s super-G to be abandoned.
“I’m happy that I’ve finally done one good run,” said Vonn, who raised her right arm in triumph on crossing the line. “My first run, I was not in the rhythm. I felt like I was too relaxed and not aggressive enough. I’ve trained so well and I haven’t been able to put it together in the race. I’m trying to find the right balance.”
Mancuso, the 2006 Olympic champion, has greater expectations in the giant slalom.
“I was kind of lucky to finish eighth, so I’ll take it,” she said.
The women’s circuit shifts to Val d’Isère, France, which is likely to stage a makeup race Friday of the St. Moritz super-G.
