Spindleruv Mlyn: Karbon gets fourth straight GS win

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic — Denise Karbon won her fourth consecutive World Cup giant slalom race this season on Saturday.
    Julia Mancuso was the top finisher for the United States in eighth. In a solid day for the U.S. Ski Team, four more Americans finished in the top 30 as Lindsey Vonn (starting No. 32) finished 11th, Libby Ludlow (starting No. 42) was 25th, Stacey Cook (starting No. 58) was 28th and Jessica Kelley 30th.

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic — Denise Karbon won her fourth consecutive World Cup giant slalom race this season on Saturday.
    The Italian led after the first leg on the 47-gate, 390-meter Cerna Course and posted the fourth fastest time in the second to win in a combined time of 2 minutes, 16.98 seconds.   
    ''I hoped for a good result,'' Karbon said.
    Tanja Poutiainen of Finland finished second, 0.39 seconds back, and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria took third in 2:17.57.    Kathrin Zettel of Austria came fourth in 2:17.80, while teammate Nicole Hosp, the defending discipline and overall World Cup champion, placed fifth, 0.92 seconds behind Karbon.
    Julia Mancuso was the top finisher for the United States in eighth. In a solid day for the U.S. Ski Team, four more Americans finished in the top 30 as Lindsey Vonn (starting No. 32) finished 11th, Libby Ludlow (starting No. 42) was 25th, Stacey Cook (starting No. 58) was 28th and Jessica Kelley 30th.

U.S. coach Knight encouraged by results    
Vonn laid down the third-fastest second run to move up nine places and protect her second spot in the World Cup overall standings. Mancuso is third in the GS points.
    "Some mixed emotion today. You always want someone on the podium and when you've got five going, you can get a little greedy," said U.S. coach Chris Knight. "It's been a long time since we've had five in the second run and now we're putting three, four, five girls in there each time and I'm happy about that. So are the girls.
    "Jules had some fantastic sections but a couple of mistakes cost her on the first run. Then she took more risks on the second run. A couple of sections were right there with her best GS and a few more days of training should be even more help for her," Knight said. "Lindsey was fantastic, too. It's a great result for her. She let it go. That's three top-30s in a row for Libby, who can go faster, and for Stacey to come from starting so far back and score is incredible."
    Although the sun was shining with temperatures in the upper teens, the course was in the shade and created some tricky, flat light situations. "The snow conditions, though, were perfect. They injected [i.e., put water into the snow to turn it icy and hard] a couple of weeks ago and then they've had snow, so it's hard and great for racing," Knight said.

Karbon: No speed events for me
The Czech Republic's Sarka Zahrobska, the reigning World Champion in the slalom, did start Saturday's race despite an eye injury and finished in 27th place.   
    Karbon said the second run was tough for her after she led by just 0.2 seconds.   
    ''I knew I had to make a difference on the difficult steep part, and I tried to do it with a lot of courage and be aggressive,'' she said. ''Parts of the course were icy while other parts were soft and I had to cope with that.   
    ''I was really happy to see my name next to the No.1 in the finish. It's a fantastic feeling.''
    Karbon had previously won giant slaloms in Sölden, Austria; Panorama, Canada; and Lienz, Austria.
    Poutiainen notched her third podium finish this season. She finished third in the slalom events in Lienz and second in Aspen.
    ''I always hope to win,'' she said. ''I knew I skied good and had chances to win.''
    Poutiainen last won a giant slalom in March in Zwiesel, Germany, but she knows it will be difficult to beat Karbon.
    ''Yes, Denise skis really strong right now, it's amazing.'' Poutiainen said. ''After the victories you feel so confident you can just go out and do everything. The others have to ski without any mistakes to be able to compete (with her). But we'll see next weekend when I'll have another chance to beat her.''
    There is a giant slalom and slalom in Maribor, Slovenia, on Jan. 12-13.
    Goergl had placed second in the giant slalom in Panorama, Canada. She was third after the first leg and had the same time as Poutiainen in the second.
    ''My first run was solid and the second was also good,'' said Goergl, who is still seeking her first World Cup victory. ''I'll try the next race.''
    Karbon, who leads the GS standings with 400 points and climbed to fifth place overall with 459, doesn't plan to participate in speed disciplines to increase her chances to win the overall trophy.
    ''GS will be my discipline in the future,'' she said. But ''I'll try to do a little bit better in slalom.''
    The women's circuit returned to Spindleruv Mlyn for the second time after slalom and giant slalom events in December 2005, which were the first alpine races held in the Czech Republic.

    — The Associated Press

The SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's Giant Slalom, Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, Jan. 5, 2008
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Karbon, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
2 Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
3 Goergl, Head/Head/Head
4 Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
6 Gius, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
7 Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 Mancuso, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
9 Moelgg, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
10 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

Women's Giant Slalom, Spinderluv Myln, Czech Republic, Jan. 5, 2008. … It is the 15th race of the women's 39 event 2008 World Cup schedule. … It is the fourth of eight scheduled giant slaloms. … It is just the third race held at Spinderluv Myln following a GS and slalom Dec. 21 and 22, 2005, the first World Cup alpine races ever held in the Czech Republic.
    It is the fifth career World Cup win for Denise Karbon, all in GS, and her fourth of the season. … She has not lost a GS this season. … Her only other result at Spinderluv Myln is 21st in GS Dec. 21, 2005.
    It is the 26th career World Cup podium for Tanja Poutiainen. … Her second of the season having placed third in the Lienz slalom Dec. 29. … Her next best GS result this season is sixth at Lienz Dec. 28. … She is the only Finnish women to claim an alpine World Cup podium placing.
    It is the 12th career World Cup podium for Elisabeth Goergl, who has never won a World Cup race. … It is her second podium of the season having been second in GS at Panoram
a Nov. 24.
    It is the 57th career World Cup top ten for Julia Mancuso. … Her eighth of the season in 13 scoring races. … The race ends a three race podium streak in races completed. … It is the second best career GS result for Lindsey Vonn (Kildow). … Her best in the discipline is ninth at Maribor Jan. 22, 2005. … She has scored in all disciplines this season. … It is the sixth career scoring result in a World Cup GS for Libby Ludlow. …  Her third this season having placed 25th at Panorama and 22nd at Lienz. … It is the third career GS result for Libby Ludlow, the other two coming in 2006. … Jessica Kelley finished 30th but received no points due to her time back from the winner.
    Winning margin is 0.39 of a second. … Top five are within the same second. …. Top ten within two seconds. … Nicole Hosp (fifth in race) maintains the lead in the overall standings 559-504 over Lindsey Vonn. … Julia Mancuso moves into third at 476 pts. … Maria Riesch (16th in race) is one point behind at 475. … Karbon remains perfect in the GS standings with 400 pts after four races. … Elisabeth Goergl is second at 219 and Mancuso third at 218. … Tanja Poutiainen is fourth at 181.

Did not finish 1st run: BERECZ Anna (HUN), SMUTNA Michaela (CZE), HRSTKOVA Lucie (CZE), GASIENICA DANIEL Agnieszka (POL), BRODNIK Vanja (SLO), BERTRAND Olivia (FRA), FENNINGER Anna (AUT), LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica (SWE)

Did not qualify 1st run: BUBAKOVA Veronika (CZE), KURFUERSTOVA Eva (CZE), HONKONEN Jessica (FIN), ZAKOURILOVA Petra (CZE), COSTAZZA Chiara (ITA), HANSDOTTER Frida (SWE), ROSS Lauren (USA), GRAND Rabea (SUI), GUT Lara (SUI), BONJOUR Aline (SUI), SMED Veronica (SWE), BERTHOD Pascale (SUI), BORSSEN Therese (SWE), GIANESINI Giulia (ITA), STUHEC Ilka (SLO), BARIOZ Taina (FRA), LOLOVIC Jelena (SRB), BERGER Silvia (AUT), LOESETH Lene (NOR), CICCONE Caitlin (USA), LOESETH Nina (NOR), MCJAMES Megan (USA), KOEHLE Stefanie (AUT), LUSTENBERGER Christina (CAN), JANYK Britt (CAN), BRYDON Emily (CAN), ZUZULOVA Veronika (SVK), SANTON Aurelie (FRA), SUTER Fabienne (SUI), ROBNIK Mateja (SLO), MAZE Tina (SLO), DREV Ana (SLO), PAERSON Anja (SWE), SCHILD Marlies (AUT)