CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Vail’s Lindsey Vonn finally had an error-free run and won a super-G Friday for her fifth victory of the season. She was joined in the top 10 by teammates Julia Mancuso (fourth) and Leanne Smith (career-best eighth).
Vonn’s rival for the World Cup overall title, Maria Riesch of Germany, finished ninth but maintained the overall lead.
“It’s awesome,” Vonn said after embracing Smith. “All the girls on our team have the capability of being on the podium, and I think it’s just a matter of them gaining confidence and believing in themselves.”
In a memorable day for the U.S. team, World Cup rookie Laurenne Ross of Klamath Falls, Ore., was 19th, and Stacey Cook of Mammoth, Calif., was 21st.
Vonn, who has made several recoveries from near crashes in recent races, sped down the shortened Olympia delle Tofane course in 1 minute, 11.66 seconds.
“I had a good, clean run,” Vonn said. “In the past few races, I’ve been making mistakes. (Friday) I found a happy balance, a happy medium, and I was able to ski solid and have a good day.”
Swedish standout Anja Paerson finished second, 0.43 seconds behind, to match her best result this season. Anna Fenninger of Austria was third.
Riesch lost 71 points to Vonn with the ninth-place finish and leads her by 125 points in the overall standings. Vonn will be the favorite in today’s downhill and another super-G Sunday.
Kostelic wins super-G
KITZBUEHEL, Austria — World Cup overall leader Ivica Kostelic won a super-G, his fifth victory in less than three weeks.
The Croatian, a slalom specialist who had never won a speed race, finished his run on the challenging Streifalm course in 1:17.33 for his 16th career World Cup victory.
Georg Streitberger of Austria trailed by 0.23 seconds to move to the top of the discipline standings. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was another 0.05 back in third. Bode Miller finished 10th.
Meanwhile, Austrian Hans Grugger, who crashed during Thursday’s downhill training, was in an induced coma and in stable but critical condition after undergoing brain surgery.
