Lake Louise (AB), Canada – Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn made a spectacular athletic recovery Saturday to finish second in downhill for the second day in a row at Lake Louise, leading a pack of seven Americans into the top 25 in Downhill #2 of the Lake Louise Winterstart World Cup. World Cup leader Maria Riesch of Germany earned back-to-back downhill wins as Julia Mancuso posted another solid result with sixth.n“It’s a new race, a new day, a new start. It’s the same for everybody,” Riesch said about not losing her focus after Friday’s win. “I just try to stay focused and concentrated. I am happy about yesterday but I am focused on today and that’s what you have to do.
“I have had a really good start to the season,” Riesch added, reflecting upon six consecutive results in the top 10 so far this winter. “Every single race has gone well. But it’s a long season and there’s a lot of races in front of us. You have to keep concentrating through the whole season.”
It was Vonn who momentarily lost her concentration on Saturday. On a critical left turn midway down the course Vonn’s skis released from the snow sending her sailing through the air sideways. The three-time World Cup downhill champion then landed hard on her left hip, immediately bounced up, regained her tuck and continued to charge, missing the win by a mere .10 seconds.
“I realized I was on my hip and thought I was going into the fence and I just kept thinking ‘get back up, get back up, get back up,'” said Vonn, who attributed the save to her rigorous off season conditioning program. “Somehow I caught my edge and was able to stand back up. Once I was on my feet again I just kept thinking ‘make up time.'”
“She had probably one of the most amazing recoveries in the history of ski racing,” said U.S. Ski Team women’s speed Head Coach Chip White. “She was completely laid out onto her side coming into Fall Away, skipped through the air and was able to get back to her feet. Honestly I thought she was in the fence. Ninety nine percent of all racers would have been in the fence, but the athleticism of Lindsey was phenomenal. It’s unbelievable that she’s in the top 20, much less second.”
Mancuso continued to show she’s a contender landing in the top 10 in her last three World Cup downhill races.
“Julia skied brilliantly,” added White. “She skied so clean and so tough. I’m pleased with her performace over the last few days. Normally this is not her hill and she’s making something out of it and proving that she’s in the game.”
Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, Vt.) was 14th with Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.) tying for 15th followed by Laurenne Ross (Klamath Falls, Ore.) in 19th and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) 25th.
“These top 15s with Chelsea, Alice and Leanne were fantastic,” said White. “We’re elated with the performance of the entire team. This was probably the slickest conditions we’ve ever seen on a women’s World Cup downhill. It was very very challenging and these girls did a fantastic job of sticking their nose in and making something out of a very difficult situation.”
It was another tough day for Canadian women on home snow, as none earned World Cup points in Saturday’s race. The top Canadian finisher was Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, British Columbia, in 34th, followed by Whistler, British Columbia’s Britt Janyk in 43rd and Stephanie Irwin of Calgary, Alberta, in 45th.
“I was a lot calmer today, not over thinking like the last couple days,” Simmerling said after the race. “My nerves did not get the best of me. I am a little bummed not to be in the top 30 today but I just need to make less mistakes and it will happen.”
The World Cup women will close out racing in Lake Louise on Sunday with a super G.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Lake Louise, AB, Canada
December 4, 2010
Downhill
1. Maria Riesch, Germany, 1:29.60
2. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:29.70
3. Dominique Gisin, Switzerland, 1:30.38
4. Daniela Merghetti, Italy, 1:30.44
5. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 1:30.64