Lenzerheide: Hosp, Schild 1-2 in slalom 1st run

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland — Austrians Nicole Hosp and Marlies Schild finished 1-2 in the first run of slalom Saturday at World Cup Finals while Julia Mancuso, battling for the World Cup overall title, was 19th, giving her an excellent start spot for the second run. Resi Stiegler was 12th and Kaylin Richardson did not finish her run.

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland — Austrians Nicole Hosp and Marlies Schild finished 1-2 in the first run of slalom Saturday at World Cup Finals while Julia Mancuso, battling for the World Cup overall title, was 19th, giving her an excellent start spot for the second run. Resi Stiegler was 12th and Kaylin Richardson did not finish her run.
    “I was just trying to take it mellow. It’s all about confidence … confidence,” Stiegler said.
    Schild has wrapped up the slalom title, as she stands 395 points ahead of second-place racer Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic. In the overall chase, Schild entered the race with a 70-point cushion over Hosp, with Mancuso barely in contention mathematically.
    Hosp clocked 53.49 seconds down the Silvano Beltrametti course, with Schild just 0.12 seconds behind. Paerson was third, 0.23 seconds out, after making up time on the lower section.
    “I had nothing to lose so I attacked,” said Hosp, the Olympic silver medalist in slalom last year. “It’s exciting to be leading after the first leg because I haven’t done that for a while.”
    Schild was looking to equal Croatian Janica Kostelic’s season record of eight World Cup victories in slalom.
    “I’m happy, I just wanted a clean run but I will attack more in the second leg,” she said.
    Despite no major bobbles, Mancuso was not happy with her run. "Not so good, I need to practice my slalom," Mancuso said. "I probably should say I made some mistakes because I was so slow."
    If Hosp fails to complete the second leg, Schild needs only to finish eighth to clinch the overall title, World Cup skiing’s most significant prize.
    Schild has enjoyed a stunning week so far.
    Starting the week with a lead of only 15 points over Hosp and 51 over Mancuso, Schild was not expected to be able to match her faster rivals in the downhill and super G. But she finished a career-best second in Wednesday’s downhill and third in the super G the following day. She outscored every racer over the two days, even Renate Goetschl, the World Cup discipline champion in both.

Lenzerheide women’s World Cup slalom results
First run
1. Nicole Hosp, Austria, 53.49 seconds.
2. Marlies Schild, Austria, 53.61.
3. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 53.72.
4. Veronika Zuzulova, Slovakia, 54.09.
5. Tanja Poutiainen, Finland, 54.24.
6. Therese Borssen, Sweden, 54.40.
7. Ana Jelusic, Croatia, 54.42.
8. Nina Loeseth, Norway, 54.58.
9. Florine De Leymarie, France, 54.72.
10. Sarka Zahrobska, Czech Republic, 54.74.
11. Anna Ottosson, Sweden, 54.75.
12. Resi Stiegler, United States, 54.97.
13. Michaela Kirchgasser, Austria, 54.98.
14. Maria Riesch, Germany, 55.12.
15. Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, Germany, 55.32.
16. Vanessa Vidal, France, 55.63.
17. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 55.66.
18. Katarzyna Karasinska, Poland, 55.95.
19. Julia Mancuso, United States, 56.19.
20. Nicole Gius, Italy, 56.77.

Did not finish
Chiara Costazza, Italy; Annemarie Gerg, Germany; Maria Pietilae-Holmner, Sweden; Manuela Moelgg, Italy; Sanni Lienonen, Finland; Kaylin Richardson, United States; Annalisa Ceresa, Italy; Ilka Stuhec, Slovenia.