Sölden, Austria – America’s Lindsey Vonn scored a come-from-behind victory in today’s World Cup opener on the Rettenbach Glacier above Sölden, her first ever World Cup win in giant slalom.

With her first place finish on Saturday, Vonn is now one of only five women in World Cup history who have clinched the top spot in all five alpine ski racing disciplines: downhill, combined, super combined, slalom and giant slalom. It brings her World Cup tally to 42 wins, primarily earned in speed events, and underscores her intention to take back the World Cup Overall title after losing it last winter to her former close friend, Maria Riesch of Germany. Vonn was the Overall champion in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Vonn, of Vail, Colo., was fourth after the first run but attacked the course with her second effort to finish with a combined time of 2:24.43, four one-hundredths ahead of Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg, who was last winter’s World Cup Giant Slalom champion and the winner in Sölden in 2010. Local Austrian hero Elisabeth Goergl rounded out the podium in third with 2:24.83. Italy’s Federica Brignone had a big lead after the first run but fell after catching an edge just a few gates into her second run.

“I worked really hard in slalom and giant slalom this summer. I spent a month in New Zealand focusing on those two events and I know I made a lot of progress. I’m glad it’s showing up in the races,” said Vonn, who remained off her skis all week after falling in training last Saturday and bruising her hip. “It’s so positive for me to have this result today. I have a lot of momentum and confidence now going into the rest of the season.

“It’s difficult to be fast in five events, I’ve always worked really hard and tried to be successful in slalom and giant slalom but it didn’t always work out, but finally I was able to get this win today and it feels so good to finally have your hard work pay off,” Vonn added.

Vonn’s win is the first in giant slalom for U.S. women since Julie Parisien’s victory in Waterville Valley, N.H., in 1991, and the first in Europe since Tamara McKinney won in Zwiesel, Germany, in 1984. She’s now tied with Swede Anja Paerson at fourth in the all time World Cup wins list with 42. Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria, who retired from ski racing in 1980, leads with 62 World Cup wins in her career.

For her own effort, Riesch struggled on Saturday, finishing 12th after the first run but sliding all the way to 29th place after a second run marred by problems holding an edge around several high speed turns on a course that some describe as the toughest that the women will face all season.

The U.S. Ski Team put two women in the top-10 on Saturday, with Julia Mancuso, of Squaw Valley, Calif., taking 10th place.

“When I finish top-ten it feels good. I definitely know where I can improve, so it’s good to leave the hill with lots of positive things but also wanting more,” said Mancuso. “It’s really cool to start the season in Austria where they are stoked about ski racing, I’m super excited to be back in race mode.”

Nursing a sore back, Sarah Schleper of Vail, Colo. started the first run but pulled out without finishing.

Young gun Marie-Michèle Gagnon, of Lac Etchemin, Quebec, recorded a 25^th-place finish to pick up World Cup points for the Canadians. Sitting in 19th place after her first run, the 22-year-old was left disappointed after taking too straight a line during a hard-charging second run cost her time on the flat lower part of the course.

“I over-charged it, if anything,” said Gagnon, who finished with a two-run combined time of 2:27.68 seconds, over three full seconds behind Vonn. “I was doing really well but I made a little mistake and lost all my speed.”

Gagnon, who had a career-best fifth-place World Cup finish in giant slalom last year, has had a lot of success attacking her second runs. But after crossing the finish line Saturday she gave a thumbs down to the TV cameras to show her disappointment.

The only other Canadian starter on Saturday, Marie-Pier Préfontaine, of Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, was one of the day’s 12 DNF’s in the first run. Préfontaine had been looking good in training but didn’t finish her first run after skiing out near the bottom of the course.

“She has been skiing very well – she’s been very consistent,” said Hugues Ansermoz, head coach of the Canadian women’s squad. “This was the worst run she’s done – she didn’t really find her rhythm on top.”

The men’s World Cup gets underway with a giant slalom Sunday in Sölden. Next up for the women will be a slalom in Levi, Finland, on Nov. 12.

FIS WORLD CUP
WOMEN’S GIANT SLALOM
SOLDEN, AUSTRIA – OCT. 22, 2011