Zauchensee: Downhill a draw between Gisin and Paerson; Vonn rounds out podium

Swiss skier Dominique Gisin landed her first ever World Cup victory on the Zauchensee downhill course Sunday, but she had to share the glory with seasoned champion Anja Paerson. Paerson and Gisin tied for the win on the twisty, jump-filled Austrian course, matching each other’s time to one hundredth of a second in 1 minute, 47.52 seconds.

Just .17 seconds in their wake was reigning World Cup overall and downhill champion Lindsey Vonn, who put away a solid weekend of racing after Saturday’s super-combined victory. She has now taken the World Cup overall lead back from her friend Maria Riesch, who finished seventh Sunday, .78 seconds off the winning pace. French racer Marie Marchand-Arvier finished fourth, .40 seconds off the winning pace and Canadian Emily Brydon fifth, .71 seconds off.

Swiss skier Dominique Gisin landed her first ever World Cup victory on the Zauchensee downhill course Sunday, but she had to share the glory with seasoned champion Anja Paerson. Paerson and Gisin tied for the win on the twisty, jump-filled Austrian course, matching each other’s time to one hundredth of a second in 1 minute, 47.52 seconds.

Just .17 seconds in their wake was reigning World Cup overall and downhill champion Lindsey Vonn, who put away a solid weekend of racing after Saturday’s super-combined victory. She has now taken the World Cup overall lead back from her friend Maria Riesch, who finished seventh Sunday, .78 seconds off the winning pace. French racer Marie Marchand-Arvier finished fourth, .40 seconds off the winning pace and Canadian Emily Brydon fifth, .71 seconds off.

Vonn said she was nervous going into the downhill course’s hot air jump. She nearly lost her composure off the same jump Saturday, but recovered.

“I skied a little cautiously going into the jump and that’s maybe why I didn’t win today,” she said. “Conditions were really tough. It was windy. the light was flat. I’m happy I made it to the finish. This course is actually really dangerous because it’s really easy to go out. I’m only one-tenth behind, so it’s not a bad day. It’s hard to win with mistakes. Today was good. I’m happy with it.”

Vonn leads the overall Cup standings with 776 points, followed by Riesch with 765 and Paerson with 702.

“It’s confidence-building,” Vonn said of re-establishing the Cup lead. “After the long series of wins Maria’s had in slalom, I’m really happy to pull ahead a little bit this weekend. But if I stay in the hunt with her, I’m really going to have to execute in Cortina, I’m really have to seize every opportunity.”

In downhill, many skiers who start and finish early on in the lineup are able to stand in the leader’s box for a precious couple ensuing racers before the likes of a Vonn, Paerson or Maria Riesch comes down and boots them out. Gisin, who started No. 4 Sunday, got to watch 50-some racers rocket down the course and was able to get comfortable for the long haul. 

The 23-year-old had seven previous top-10s under her belt on the World Cup, including a second place in Zauchensee in 2007 – her best ever result before Sunday.

Other Americans to navigate the course speedily included Leanne Smith, who finished 22nd, and Julia Mancuso, who tied for 24th.

The SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women’s downhill, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Jan. 18, 2009
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Paerson, Head/Head/Head
1 Gisin, Dynastar/Lange/Marker
3 Vonn, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4 Marchand-Arvier, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
5 Brydon, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
6 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
7 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
8 Goergl, Head/Head/Head
9 Jacquemod, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
10 Maze, Stoeckli/Lange/Rossignol

Women’s Downhill, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, Jan. 18, 2009. … It is the 17th race of the women’s 36 race 2009 World Cup schedule. … The second of eight scheduled downhills. … It is the 23rd Cup event held at Zauchensee. … The ninth DH at the site.

It is the 40th career World Cup win for Anja Paerson. … Her fifth in downhill. … It is her second win of the season having previously won the St Moritz combined Dec. 19. … It is her first win at Zauchensee and her second podium in two days having placed third in yesterday’s combined. … She is fourth ranked among women in the all-time victory list and is now six victories behind Renate Goetschl (14th in race). … It is the first career World Cup win for Dominique Gisin. … Her first Cup podium also came at Zauchensee Jan. 13, 2007 when she was second in DH to Goetschl.

It is the 37th career Cup podium for Lindsey Vonn. … Her 20th in DH. … It is her sixth podium of the season. … It is her best DH result at Zauchensee, but her third best result at the site having been first in combined yesterday and second in combined in 2007.

It is the 12th career top five placing for Emily Brydon. … her seventh in DH. … It is her best result of the season though all five of her scoring finishes have been top 10 results. … It is the 24th time Britt Janyk has finished 11th or better in a World Cup. … It is her second best result of the season of four. … It is a career best result at Zauchensee. … It is the 54th career World Cup scoring result for Kelly VanderBeek. … Her third of the season. … It was just her second result at Zauchensee. … It is the seventh career World Cup result of Leanne Smith’s career. … Her third of the season and second in two days. … She has scored inb three different disciplines this season. … It is the tenth score of the season for Julia Mancuso. … The 147th of her career. … It is her fifth result at the site and the first of them not in the top five. … Chelsea Marshall was three hundredths of a second from scoring in her seventh career race.

Vonn maintains the lead of the World Cup overall standings 776-765 over Maria Riesch (seventh in race). … Pearson moves to third at 702. … Vonn leads the DH standings 160-126 over Gisin. … Paerson is third at 100.