Levi: Kostelic wins night slalom ahead of Paerson; Kildow fourth

By Published On: March 10th, 2006Comments Off on Levi: Kostelic wins night slalom ahead of Paerson; Kildow fourth

Levi: Kostelic wins night slalom ahead of Paerson; Kildow fourthLEVI, Finland – Janica Kostelic skied two near-flawless runs to win a World Cup slalom race, closing in on the season title on Friday.

Racing on an illuminated course in driving snow, the Croatian had a combined time of 1 minute, 37.52 seconds down Levi’s Black course for her seventh World Cup win of the season.

Olympic champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, skiing with sore knees, finished second a sizable 1.47 behind.

Lindsey Kildow and Resi Stiegler, the only Americans in the race, were fourth and ninth. Their teammate Sarah Schleper ended her season with a knee injury last week.

‘This is awesome, I’m really surprising myself these days’ said Kildow, who reinforced her position in the first slalom seed with this result. ‘It was one of my goals this winter to improve my slalom skiing. Now I also have to ski better in giant slalom. I’m having fun and there are still some interesting races to win in the coming week.”

Kostelic also increased her lead in the overall standings over Paerson, the two-time defending World Cup champion. Five races, including another slalom at Levi on Saturday, remain.

”I’m really happy about my first run,” Kostelic said. ”I only made one tiny mistake. Otherwise I skied very fast.”

”The slope was bad (in the second run). When I came to the first gate I was scared, but then I just tried to concentrate and the rest of the race went well. The result was good, but my health is getting worse every day.”

Kathrin Zettel of Austria, third in the slalom standings going into the race, made the last podium spot, 2.65 back.

”I had big problems in the second run,” Zettel said. ”I made one big mistake and couldn’t believe that I managed third.”

Kildow was fourth, 2.91 behind Kostelic. Meanwhile, Stiegler was sixth after the first run, but dropped back to ninth after making a mistake after coming onto a pitch.

Several racers had trouble with that breakover, including Trine Bakke Rognmo of Norway and Marlies Schild, who both skied out after getting rattled by the terrain there.

Schild, the Olympic bronze medalist, was Kostelic’s biggest rival for the slalom title, and was in second after the first run. The Austrian trailed Kostelic by 40 points going into the race.

Olympic silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria, who was fifth in the slalom standings, skied out in the first run.

Levi is situated north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, and is the northernmost venue on the World Cup circuit.

Next the women move to Are, Sweden, for World Cup Finals, which consist of a race in each discipline, and a team event.

– The Associated Press, with Ski Racing staff additions

Women’s slalom
Levi, Sweden
March 10, 2006

1. Janica Kostelic, CRO 1:37.52
2. Anja Paerson, SWE 1:38.99
3. Kathrin Zettel, AUT 1:40.17
4. Lindsey Kildow, USA 1:40.43
5. Tanja Poutiainen, FIN 1:40.47
6. Therese Borsson, SWE 1:40.92
7. Anna Ottosson, SWE 1:41.32
8. Chiara Costazza, ITA 1:41.47
9. Resi Stiegler, USA 1:41.50
10. Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, GER 1:41.53
11. Maria Pietilae-Holmner, SWE 1:41.61
12. Sarka Zahrobska, CZE 1:41.73
13. Annalisa Ceresa, ITA 1:42.00
14. Vanessa Vidal, FRA 1:42.08
15. Ana Jelusic, CRO 1:42.12
16. Malin Hultdin, SWE 1:42.51
17. Manuela Moelgg, ITA 1:42.57
18. Nika Fleiss, CRO 1:42.88
19. Florine DeLeymarie, FRA 1:43.11
20. Laure Pequegnot, FRA 1:43.20
21. Kathrin Hoelzl, GER 1:43.31
22. Sandrine Aubert, FRA 1:43.42
23. Rabea Grand, SUI 1:48.34
24. Kristina Hultdin, SWE 1:48.85
Other North American:
DNF 2nd: Brigitte Acton, CAN

THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women’s slalom, Levi, March 10, 2006
Skier, skis/boots/bindngs

1. Kostelic, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
2. Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
3. Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4. Kildow, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5. Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
6. Borsson, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7. Ottosson, Dynastar/Lange/Tyrolia
8. Costazza, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
9. Stiegler, Dynastar/Lange/Look
10. Bergmann-Schmuderer, Head/Nordica/Tyrolia

Women’s slalom, Levi, Finland, March 10, 2006 It is the 31st event of the women’s 34 race, two combined World Cup schedule. … Five races remain, one more slalom at Levi and one race in each discipline at World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden. … It is the seventh of nine scheduled slaloms.

It is the 28th career World Cup win for Janica Kostelic. … The win moves her out of a tie with Phil Mahre for 14th on the all-time career win list. … She is eighth among women and needs three wins to catch Erika Hess. … It is her 19th career slalom win, which is two behind Hess for third among women all-time. … It is her eighth win of the season including a gold medal in combined at the Olympics. … It is her second slalom win of the season after Ofterschwang Feb. 5. … She has wins in all disciplines this season. … Twenty-four of her 33 scoring finishes this season have been top-10 placings. … 21 have been top fives. … And 16 have been podiums. … The only slalom she has not finished on the podium this season was the Olympic event, in which she placed fourth.

It is the 67th career World Cup podium result for Anja Paerson. … And her 15th of the season, including three Olympic medals. … It is her 17th career slalom win (including the “knock-out” slalom of December 2002). … Paerson finished five slaloms this season, winning three (including the Olympic event). … She missed the podium once in slaloms she completed, a fifth-place result at Zagreb Jan. 5. … It is the fifth time this season Paerson and Kostelic have finished one-two in a World Cup event.

It is the seventh career podium result for Kathrin Zettel all from this season. … It is her fourth slalom podium.

It is the 18th career top-four placing for Lindsey Kildow and a career-best slalom result. … It is her eighth top four of the season. … And her second fourth-place finish this March. … Ninth is one placing away from a career best for Resi Stiegler. … It is her best result of the season, besting a 10th in slalom at Zagreb.

Janica Kostelic continues to power toward the World Cup overall title, leading Anja Paerson 1,640-1,366 with five races remaining. … Only Paerson and third-ranked Michaela Dorfmeister (1228 points) have a mathematical chance to catch her. … Kostelic also leads the slalom standings 560-420 over Marlies Schild (a second-run DNF). … Third-ranked Kathrin Zettel (370 points) kept slim hopes alive with a third-place finish but is 190 points back with two races remaining. … A third place in either of the remaining two slalom would give Kostelic at least a share of the slalom title. … Kostelic won the World Cup overall title and slalom titles in both 2001 and 2003. … Winning margin was nearly a second and a half (1.47 seconds). … Third place was more than two and a half seconds out (2.65).

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About the Author: Pete Rugh