CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy—Lindsey Vonn missed a turn and nearly crashed, handing victory to overall World Cup rival Maria Riesch in the traditional downhill in Cortina on Saturday.
Riesch had an error-free run and clocked 1 minute, 39.30 seconds on the sun-drenched Olympia delle Tofane course for her fourth win this season. American Julia Mancuso finished second, 0.91 seconds behind, and Vonn was third, 1.00 back.
“I thought for sure I was going to crash,” Vonn said. “But I just tried to keep fighting and for me just to come to the finish line today was a victory. I’m really happy that I didn’t crash and I’m still healthy.”
Vonn was faster than Riesch through the first checkpoint but lost control on a right turn midway down. Her left ski slipped out wide—she nearly did the splits—and would have hit the fences at full speed if not for a strenuous recovery.
Vonn appeared to avoid injury, although she wasn’t completely sure.
“My left knee is feeling a little funny. I got to get it checked out, but I think I’m fine,” she said.
Riesch increased her overall World Cup lead on Vonn to 165 points.
“Every win in downhill is special because Lindsey is so strong in this discipline,” the German said. “This race could become very important for the overall.”
Vonn also nearly wiped out in Wednesday’s opening training session, and several of her recent races have been marked by spectacular recoveries. The three-time defending overall champion had an error-free run to win Friday’s super-G. She’ll be looking to clean up her skiing for another super-G on Sunday .
“Funny things happen when you’re skiing well and risking a lot—that’s ski racing,” said Vonn, who still holds a 63-point lead over Riesch in the downhill standings. “I have to just stay positive and I really hope that tomorrow I have a clean run.”
Riesch has won three downhill races to Vonn’s two this season.
Mancuso is improving race by race, having finished fourth Friday. She took silver behind Vonn in last year’s Olympic downhill, but hadn’t finished as high as second in a World Cup race since a super-G here three years ago.
“With the level of competition now you have to have a perfect run. I made a few small mistakes and Maria skied perfect, so I’m still happy with second place,” Mancuso said. “I think I’m just a couple of mistakes away from winning.”
Swedish standout Anja Paerson had a slight bobble during her run and skied off course. Nadia Fanchini of Italy started as a forerunner and fell with apparent knee damage.
The race was run in perfect snow conditions. Several thousand fans in attendance, including a brass band, were treated to the spectacular sight of skiers slicing through two jagged rock outcroppings near the top of the course, where athletes hit the fastest speeds of 80 mph.
With the finish area halfway up the mountain, many fans took a break from skiing to watch the race.
