Zauchensee, Austria – Vail, Colo.’s Lindsey Vonn nearly skied into the fence Saturday, but reeled it back in to win the women’s Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill ski race in Zauchensee, her fourth win of the season. Vonn gained 50 points on overall leader Maria Reisch of Germany, who finished fourth.nIn the tiny mountain village nestled above Altenmarkt, just south of Salzburg, Vonn charged out of the gate to beat the women’s downhill field by .43, marking her second career World Cup win and fourth podium in Zauchensee.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me this year. I seem to be making big mistakes in almost every downhill that I race in and still have a good result,” Vonn said. “For me, it’s just a matter of keeping my cool. It’s just belief and the cool factor – just staying cool even though you make mistakes.”
Despite warm temperatures and taking a wide turn on Lechwald or the “Milka Turn” as it’s known to U.S. coaches, Vonn proved once again she is the queen of speed making up time at the bottom of the course.
“It definitely got wild. I came into the last section with a lot of speed. I had a good line coming in, but I must have hit some soft snow,” explained Vonn. “It cost me a lot of speed. I knew if I could carry my speed on the next left footed turn I could make some time up on the last couple of turns. I guess I did that, but it was tough.”
Teammate and fellow Olympic champion Julia Mancuso, of Olympic Valley, Calif., experienced trouble on the same section as Vonn finishing 16th.
Sweden’s Anja Paerson finished behind Vonn in second with Austria’s Anna Fenninger in third.
“It was a difficult race, but I’m happy to get the win today,” Vonn said.
“Lindsay is so confident on her skis,” said Canadian ski racer Britt Janyk, who finished 15th on Saturday. “In downhill you need to technically ski well but also be soft on your skis and Lindsay is good at that. She is always going for the win and pushes the limit, so even when she makes a mistake like she did today she can still win the race. She is definitely a tough one to beat.”
Janyk was one of only two Canadian women entered in Saturday’s race. The other, Georgia Simmerling of Vancouver, British Columbia, finished in 45th. Janyk, of Whistler, British Columbia, earned her best result so far this season in the Val d’Isère downhill event last month, finishing 13th.
“I’m definitely happy with my race today,” said the speed team veteran. “It’s a step forward after Lake Louise as I really struggled there. The 13th place in Val d’Isère right before Christmas really helped me get my confidence back. I moved up in the rankings in downhill and I will keep working on some issues with my skiing. I’m very happy with this solid finish.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Zauchensee, Austria – Jan. 8, 2011
Downhill
1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:46.39
2. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 1:46.82
3. Anna Fenninger, Austria, 1:47.37