St. Anton, Austria – Glenwood Springs, Colo.’s Alice McKennis came out of the number four start position to pick up a career first Audi FIS Alpine World Cup win in a challenging downhill on the Kandahar course in St. Anton on Saturday.

“It’s totally shocking for me. I had hoped to be top ten. I skied as hard as I could and it turned out alright,” said McKennis. “I had one of the best runs I’ve ever had. I’ve never been here before but I knew what I had to do. It’s a really tough course. I had to be really aggressive the whole way and never back off. If you do, it will take control of you.”

McKennis’ father, Greg, was in the stands to celebrate her first World Cup win. McKennis grew up on a ranch near Glenwood Springs, learning to ski race at Sunlight Mountain Resort.

“I’m a little overwhelmed but extremely happy. It’s a dream come true – something you think about as a little kid growing up,” she added.

McKennis led three Americans into the top six – five in the first 15 – on a dominating day for the U.S. Ski Team, becoming the ninth American to find the podium this season and the fifth winner. Laurenne Ross, of Bend, Ore., earned a career best downhill fifth and Vail, Colo.’s Lindsey Vonn returned to action in sixth after taking a self-imposed hiatus from the World Cup circuit to recover from illness. Leanne Smith, of North Conway, N.H., and California’s Julia Mancuso tied for 15^th. Stacey Cook, of Mammoth Mountain, Calif., was 22^nd.

“The strength of our team has been really fun to watch – the whole team, Alice winning today and Laurenne. It makes me proud to be a part of a great bunch of girls,” said Vonn. “For me, I’m just happy to be back. It was definitely tough conditions. The course workers did a great job – I almost didn’t think it was possible to run today. I made some mistakes but I felt good and I felt my skiing was where it should be.”

With her win in St. Anton, McKennis moved into fourth in the downhill standings, with three Americans in the top four.

Canada’s Larisa Yurkiw put in a valiant effort to attack from the back, but ultimately came up short of her goal of a top-30 finish when she placed 37^th.

“It’s tough when you are starting at the back. There were some ruts; it was dark,” Hugues Ansermoz, head coach of the Canadian ladies’ team, rationalized when explaining Yurkiw’s result. “To get a result from the back you need 100 percent confidence and she doesn’t have that yet.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
St. Anton, Austria – Jan. 12, 2013
Women’s Downhill