Zwiesel: Birthday girl Mancuso targets podium

By Published On: March 8th, 2007Comments Off on Zwiesel: Birthday girl Mancuso targets podium

The four contenders battling for supremacy in the overall World Cup standings all celebrated an important victory in the last races held in recent weeks in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and Tarvisio, Italy.
    Marlies Schild, who captured the slalom title two weeks ago on Spanish snow with her sixth triumph in the specialty this winter, was followed by her teammate Nicole Hosp in the super combined last week in Italy.
    The next day, it was the turn of USA’s rising star Julia Mancuso to reach the top of the podium in the Italian downhill, followed Sunday by Austrian veteran Renate Goetschl, who dominated the super G, winning her 45th World Cup race since March 1993.
ZWIESEL, Germany —  The four contenders battling for supremacy in the overall World Cup standings all celebrated an important victory in the last races held in recent weeks in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and Tarvisio, Italy.
    Marlies Schild, who captured the slalom title two weeks ago on Spanish snow with her sixth triumph in the specialty this winter, was followed by her teammate Nicole Hosp in the super combined last week in Italy.
    The next day, it was the turn of USA’s rising star Julia Mancuso to reach the top of the podium in the Italian downhill, followed Sunday by Austrian veteran Renate Goetschl, who dominated the super G, winning her 45th World Cup race since March 1993.
    These four racers not sit within 30 points of each other in the overall standings. It will certainly be difficult to beat them this weekend in Zwiesel, where the last stage of the women’s tour prior the Finals at Lenzerheide, in Switzerland, is scheduled.
    Two crucial competitions — a giant slalom and a slalom — will take place in the Bavarian resort situated in the Grosser Arber region located near the Czech border.
    Mancuso, who turns 23 Friday, and that trio of outstanding Austrians who are leading the specialty standings, will be vying for precious points in the hunt for the big crystal globe. The fun-loving Californian from Squaw Valley, who jumped to the top of the overall standings on the strength of three podiums in three races in Italy, trained hard this week to raise her level in the tech events and reinforce her chances to become the first American woman to win the overall trophy since Tamara McKinney in 1983.
    This season, the giant slalom Olympic champion has reached only a single podium in that specialty — in January in Cortina d’Ampezzo. She was “only” sixth in Sierra Nevada in the race won by another promising Austrian, Michaela Kirchgasser, but she will certainly charge in both coming races.
    “I never ski just for the points — only for victories,” said Mancuso, who has won four World Cup races this season. “I had to be patient to find my rhythm. Now, I’m looking for more speed — that’s quite exciting too. Once you get used to speed, you don’t want to be slow again.”
    The skier to beat in the first race and perhaps also in the overall standings could be Hosp, who is also fighting for her first specialty crystal globe against Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen. A very relaxed and joyful athlete, Hosp is the only skier of this remarkable World Cup gang to have won gold at Are in an individual event.
    “I already reached a lot this season and I don’t feel any special pressure about the overall World Cup, it’s just exciting to be part of this group of favorites,” explained the 23-year-old Tyrolian, who is also the only skier to have reached a podium in all specialties this season.
    “I always give my best when I compete. The most important right now is to stay healthy,” added Hosp, who suffered a bad cold in Are and in Spain.
    The 31-year-old Goetschl, who shares the lead in the overall classification with Mancuso, has already won the downhill and super G titles this season. She suffered a bad crash in training at Tarvisio but hopes to be able to enter the giant slalom here. “It’s a thrill at my age to be in a fight like this against the younger generation,” said the most successful active skier on the women’s circuit.
    “I know that my chances are very slim because I can’t hope to score heavy points in the technical races, but it makes life interesting. I already achieved more than I thought this winter, so I can really take a lot of risks.”
    Schild also is within striking range with four technical races left. She mostly has excelled in slalom this season but has the talent and the guts to fight for podium finishes in giant slalom. Last week, she was a strong seventh in downhill in Tarvisio but couldn’t challenge in the super G.
    Only a handful of specialists have the talent to interfere in that big fight in the coming races. Among those contenders are Kirchgasser and Poutiainen in giant slalom; and in slalom, USA’s Resi Stiegler; Sarka Zahrobska, the new slalom world champion from the Czech Republic; and Veronika Zuzulova from Slovakia.

Share This Article

About the Author: Pete Rugh