SOELDEN, Austria — Lindsey Vonn will skip Saturday’s first race of the alpine skiing season, saying she doesn’t feel confident about the icy conditions on the race hill, 10 weeks after fracturing an ankle bone.
The four-time overall World Cup champion returned successfully to training on skis Thursday, but she decided after another practice session Friday not to start in a giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier Saturday.
“In the few runs I’ve had since returning to snow I have felt strong, confident and been skiing without pain,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “However, the icy conditions on the race hill coupled with the fact that it’s only been 10 weeks since I fractured my ankle makes me slightly hesitant.”
The Vail skier said she plans to return to the World Cup circuit in Aspen for a giant slalom Nov. 28 before traveling to Lake Louise for speed races the following week.
Vonn crashed during a training camp in New Zealand in August, suffering yet another setback after an impressive return from serious knee injuries last season. She set a record for most women’s World Cup wins and earned her seventh downhill season title.
Vonn, who turned 31 on Sunday, said her priority is to avoid any risks of hurting herself again.
“If the snow conditions were different my decision would have been different as well,” she said. “But at this stage in my career I suppose it’s better to err on the side of caution.”
The U.S. Ski Team alpine director, Patrick Riml, said it was Vonn’s own decision not to race Saturday.
“She has been talking with the coaching staff about this, but (Friday) she didn’t. She did make that call,” Riml said. “There was no need for us to sit down with her.”
