Bansko: Suter nabs DH win; Vonn third

It’s fitting that a racer whose strongest discipline is super G would be the one to win the first women’s World Cup downhill race at Bansko, Bulgaria.

Swiss racer Fabienne Suter, who had only ever podiumed in World Cup super G races (including two victories last year in Bormio and Sestriere) and one super-combined, dominated the ultra turny Eastern European course.

Suter, whose previous best downhill finish was a seventh last year in St. Mortiz, won in 1 minute, 45.68 seconds, followed by Austrian Andrea Fischbacher.  Fischbacher, also an SG specialist who had never before podiumed in a World Cup downhill race, led both days in training, but fell a whole 1.15 seconds behind Suter for second place on race day, while Italian Nadia Fanchini and none other than Lindsey Vonn rounded out the podium as a pair, 1.24 seconds off the winning pace.

There was really no time for much tucking as the course took racers perpendicular to the fall line several times, forcing them to lay over one turn after another – arms out nearly the entire way down to prepare for each ensuing gate.

It’s fitting that a racer whose strongest discipline is super G would be the one to win the first women’s World Cup downhill race at Bansko, Bulgaria.

Swiss racer Fabienne Suter, who had only ever podiumed in World Cup super G races (including two victories last year in Bormio and Sestriere) and one super-combined, dominated the ultra turny Eastern European course.

Suter, whose previous best downhill finish was a seventh last year in St. Mortiz, won in 1 minute, 45.68 seconds, followed by Austrian Andrea Fischbacher.  Fischbacher, also an SG specialist who had never before podiumed in a World Cup downhill race, led both days in training, but fell a whole 1.15 seconds behind Suter for second place on race day, while Italian Nadia Fanchini and none other than Lindsey Vonn rounded out the podium as a pair, 1.24 seconds off the winning pace.

There was really no time for much tucking as the course took racers perpendicular to the fall line several times, forcing them to lay over one turn after another – arms out nearly the entire way down to prepare for each ensuing gate.

With just two downhill races left in the season – Saturday’s race in Bansko and the World Cup final in Are, Sweden – the DH title appears to be almost a sure thing for Vonn. Also, with this race she has once again put a serious gap between herself and her closest contenders in the quest for the overall Cup title.

Maria Riesch put on the brakes a bit much around one of the abrupt, left-footed turns to finish 18th Friday, more than three seconds off the pace, while Anja Paerson missed a gate and didn’t finish at all.

Vonn now leads the overall standings with 1434 points to Riesch’s 1088 and Paerson’s 960 and leads the DH standings with 380 points followed by Dominique Gisin, who has 262 points and also DNFed in Friday’s race.

“It’s looking pretty good for the downhill title and I’m feeling confident about where I am with the overall, but I’m not about to let up,” said Vonn, who also has a shot at the super G title. “Anything can happen in ski racing, that’s what makes it so exciting.”

The challenge of the Bansko course only adds to that excitement.

“This is the most difficult downhill we’ve ever seen,” said U.S. women’s speed coach Alex Hoedlmoser. “It’s icy, incredibly bumpy and extremely technical because of all the turns. Nobody makes this hill look good on skis, but for Lindsey and for Julia, it was a great day.”

Julia Mancuso put a decent race down the line to finish 13th Friday, while Stacey Cook was the only other American to land in the points tally, tying Tarvisio downhill winner Gina Stechert for 28th.

“Lindsey put herself in a sweet position to defend her downhill title and she added some really good points to her overall lead,” Hoedlmoser said. “Everything went her way with Gisin and Paerson going out and I don’t expect those girls to be able to do anything here tomorrow either, this hill is just that challenging.”

A thick fog settled on the upper part of the course and became more dense for some of the middle starters.

“Julia ran in probably the worst visibility conditions of the day and skied really well, probably one of the best runs,” Hoedlmoser said. “I’m really psyched with the way she skied, it was really dark and she didn’t hold back.”

Kelly Vanderbeek finished 24th on what was otherwise a bad day for the Canadians. The ample number of bumps on the course simply did not agree with Britt Janyk and Emily Brydon. Janyk hit a rut and got bounced off course early while Brydon’s outside ski chattered over a bump and was bounced clean off her foot around a big left turn. With one ski and one boot on the snow she came to an impressively controlled stop. 

Women’s racing at Bansko continues with another downhill on Saturday. Watch it live on universalsports.com at 5 a.m. EST.

The SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women’s DH, Bansko, Bulgaria, Feb. 27, 2009
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Suter, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
2 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
3 Fanchini, Dynastar/Lange/Look
3 Vonn, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5 Gut, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Maze, Stoeckli/Lange/Rossignol
7 Rolland, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
8 Aufdenblatten, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
9 Marchand-Arvier, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
10 Merighetti, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

Women’s World Cup Downhill, Bansko, Bulgaria, Feb. 27, 2009. … It is a make-up race for a downhill originally scheduled at St Moritz Dec. 20. … It is the first of a three race set at Bansko and the first World Cup held at the site. … It is the 26th race of the women’s 36 race 2009 World Cup schedule. … It is the fifth of the eight originally scheduled downhills with one being canceled.

It is the third career World Cup win for Fabienne Suter. … The first in DH as her other two wins came in super G in 2008. … She has been second three times this season, all in SG. … Her fifth podium this season was a third in combined. … She is the eighth Swiss to win a World Cup race this season.

It is the seventh career World Cup podium for Andrea Fischbacher. … Her third of the season (fourth including a bronze medal in SG at Worlds). … Like Suter, it is her best DH result with five of her podiums coming in SG (one in GS).

It is the seven career World Cup podium for Nadia Fanchini and her fourth of the season, (fifth including a bronze medal in DH at Worlds). … She went one-two to open the speed portion of the 2009 schedule winning the Lake Louise SG Dec. 7 and placing second in DH Dec. 8.

It is the 44th career World Cup podium for Lindsey Vonn. … Her 23rd in DH. … It is her 13th Cup podium (add two gold medals from Worlds) this season. … She has been on the podium in the last six World Cup races.

Julia Mancuso matches her third best result of the season. … And matches her best of the season in DH from Tarvisio a week ago. … She is one of just six women to score in all five disciplines. … It is the eighth scoring result of the season for Kelly VanderBeek. … It is the second scoring result of the season for Stacey Cook though she was in the top 22 of three Championship races. … Chelsea Marshall, Keely Kelleher and Kaylin Rchardson finished 31-32-34 respectively. … of 35 finishers.

Vonn leads the World Cup overall standings 1434-1088 over Maria Riesch (18th in race) with nine races remaining. … Anja Paerson (DNF in race) is third at 960. … Kathrin Zettel (did not race) is fourth at 885. … Vonn leads the downhill standings 380-262 over Dominique Gisin (DNF in race) with two races remaining. … She needs only to finish fifth or better in the final two to cinch the title.

Friday’s downhill results: