Aspen, CO – Three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso showed she has the speed for the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom, finishing eighth Saturday to lead the U.S. at the Visa Aspen Winternational after rival and three-time World Cup overall winnter Lindsey Vonn skied out of the course. France’s Tessa Worley produced a blistering second run, jumping seven spots to make it two Aspen wins in three years.nIt was a tight race in Aspen on Saturday. Worley was only one one-hundredth of a second faster than the second place finisher, Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg, who herself was only one one-hundredth of a second faster than her German teammate Kathrin Hoelzl, who finished in third.

“This is a technical course so that suits me well. I like when it is a pretty difficult slope and Aspen is one of the most difficult for the girls,” Worley said. “I think the snow this year was very well prepared and I did really actually have fun today.”

Vail, Colo.’s Sarah Schleper also bagged some World Cup points with 18th. NBC will air the women’s GS on U.S. television at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 28 with replay set for Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. on Versus.

An overflowing sunglassed crowd roared as Mancuso, of Squaw Valley, Calif., rocketed to second in the opening run, just three hundredths behind leader and Olympic gold medalist Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany. A small mistake at the top of the course slowed Mancuso enough to keep her off the Aspen podium, despite making up time through the bottom of the course.

“I remembered from the training session last time that you have to charge down the pitch through all the rolls,” said Mancuso, the 2006 Olympic GS champion. “I skied pretty consistent with one small mistake in the middle, but then I really picked it up again towards the finish. All in all it was a good run. It’s a fine balance between charging hard and taking it easy to finish.”

The tricky Aspen set grabbed Vonn yet again as her skis locked up on the grippy snow and bounced her off course. The Olympic champion immediately turned her focus to Sunday’s slalom by heading back onto the snow after the race to train.

“I just went a little too straight today and got a little too excited and amped up,” said Vonn, of Vail, Colo. “I wasn’t using the greatest tactics, but that sometimes happens in ski racing. I’m definitely disappointed in today but I’m still optimistic. My training has been going really well both in GS and slalom so I’m just looking forward to the next race and trying to stay positive and keep working hard.”

Joining Mancuso in the second run was Schleper, who was laying down a solid run before a minor speed check bounced her coming onto the flats.

“The last three years I’ve been right around the top-20,” said Schleper. “I want to start getting top-15s, top-10s. I want to get back into that routine.”

Mancuso left the gate on fire in the second run, before a losing her balance on bump in almost the exact spot as Schleper.

“I had a little problem on top and I felt like I lost my ski,” explained Mancuso. “It was hard to get back in mentally. It was something in my head and I backed off.”

Saturday was a tough day for Canadian women, none of whom qualified for a second run. Marie-Pier Préfontaine of Mont-Saint-Sauveur, Québec, failed to finish her first run, while teammate Marie-Michèle Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Québec, failed to qualify for a first run.

Americans Megan McJames, of Park City, Utah, and Klamath Falls, Ore.’s Laurenne Ross failed to qualify for a second run, while Leanne Smith of Conway, N.H., skied off course.

McJames, Ross, Vonn, Schleper and Mancuso will be back in the start Sunday along with Resi Stiegler, of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Boise, Idaho’s Hailey Duke with slalom. It will be the first start for Stiegler in just over a year.

“I’m keeping things in perspective and not expecting too much out of my first race,” said Stiegler. “But I’m excited to have fun and charge. The snow is awesome and this is a great hill.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
World Cup
Aspen, CO
November 27, 2010
Giant Slalom

1. Tessa Worley, France, 2:06.81
2. Viktoria Rebensburg, Germany, 2:06.82
3. Kathrin Hoezl, Germany, 2:06.83
4. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 2:06.87
5. Federica Brignone, Austria, 2:07.24