Mancuso stays focused as she chases the overall

Three podiums in three days and the lead in the overall World Cup standings — the Tarvisio weekend marked a milestone in the rise of Julia Mancuso, perhaps on her way to becoming the second American woman after Tamara McKinney to clinch the overall crystal globe. The coming competitions at Zwiesel, Germany, could reinforce her chances prior to World Cup Finals, which have been confirmed at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
    “It has again been an awesome weekend for me,” Mancuso said after placing third in Sunday’s super G.
THREE PODIUMS IN THREE DAYS and the lead in the overall World Cup standings — the Tarvisio weekend marked a milestone in the rise of Julia Mancuso, perhaps on her way to becoming the second American woman after Tamara McKinney to clinch the overall crystal globe. The coming competitions at Zwiesel, Germany, could reinforce her chances prior to World Cup Finals, which have been confirmed at Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
    “It has again been an awesome weekend for me,” Mancuso said after placing third in Sunday’s super G. “I really enjoy reaching the podium again in that super G because I made a series of little mistakes on my way down and I didn’t expect to finish among the top three.
    “In a way it’s pretty amazing — I had to wait so long to get my first World Cup podium finishes last winter and now I’m collecting them,” she added. “I already got 11 now in total including four wins. It’s fun and I hope to keep on skiing so well in the coming weeks.”
    She was 93 points behind overall World Cup leader Marlies Schild of Austria when she arrived in the little Italian resort of Tarvisio, where she captured her first ever gold medal at Junior World Championships five years ago.
    A second place in Friday’s super combined event, a win in Saturday’s downhill and third place in the super G lifted her to the top of the standings, level with 1,199 points with downhill great Renate Goetschl.
    “You know, there are some people who turn up at the World Cup and win their first race, but it took me a long time to get my first win,” Mancuso explained. “Every year I got a little bit better but you have to be patient. Patience is the key. Maybe now my maturity is finally coming around.”
    Austria’s Goetschl is also full of praise for the skier from Squaw Valley, California, who celebrated her first World Cup win in December at Val d’Isère. “She’s young and very talented and she is pushing, pushing, pushing in so many races,” the Austrian said. “She is also very strong, not just physically but also mentally. That, I think, is one of her biggest strengths. She is very focused. I think she will have a lot of success in future.”
    Mancuso, showed her strong determination and coolness last season by winning gold in giant slalom at the Torino Olympics, is herself a little surprised by her achievements. Last spring, she underwent surgery for her hip, which had bothered her for several years, and trained hard during summer to find her best form.
    “I really feel fine now that my body is healthy and I’m having fun always skiing faster,” she said. “Once to get used to speed, you always search for more when you race, you don’t want to be slow.
    “The World Cup [overall] is definitely a big goal, but I’m still young. There are still many more years left for me to win it. I don’t think about it when I compete. I’m already very proud to be part of the top four girls fighting for the overall title in the last two weeks. I’ll train hard this week to be ready for the coming stop at Zwiesel.”
    This season, Mancuso is traveling the tour with some friends in the huge motorhome used by Daron Rahlves last season.
    “I’m very happy about it because I didn’t have any time to really train this winter, I only raced and traveled,” Mancuso said. “I was quite tired in February, so it was so nice to get back home for a few days and relax there with my family.”