Hoefl-Riesch edges Maze in first Cortina DH training

By Published On: January 16th, 2014Comments Off on Hoefl-Riesch edges Maze in first Cortina DH training
Maria Hoefl-Riesch training in Cortina. (GEPA)

Maria Hoefl-Riesch training in Cortina. (GEPA)

Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch ran fastest on the first day of downhill training with a time of 1 minute, 39.31 seconds, edging out Slovenia’s Tina Maze at the top of the time sheets by a mere 0.01 second. Austria’s Anna Fenninger finished third, 0.69 seconds off the pace.

Current leader in the downhill standings, Hoefl-Riesch is looking strong on the “Olympia delle Tofane” slope. She has already won two downhills this World Cup season and could equal her personal best from 2010-11 with another this week.

“I like the place here and really appreciate the downhill course,” said Hoefl-Riesch after the run. “Conditions like today are perfect. I hope it will be the same on race day. … For a first training, it was pretty good. I found a good line. My skis are fast, I managed to carry some speed in all sections of the course. I’ll try to do the same or even better on Saturday. The snow isn’t so hard, and we have to ski smooth, to be delicate on the edges.”

The Americans were able to crack two in the top ten. Julia Mancuso, who seems to be hitting her stride just in time for Sochi, finished eighth, and Stacey Cook managed tenth.

“(Cortina) is a pretty fast course, even though there’s not a ton to it. There are a lot of section where you just have to stick your nose in it, so I think it just takes a lot of guts,” said Mancuso. “(My recent momentum) is exciting. I have three weeks now until the Olympics, and I still have my goals set on Sochi there. The race week now is just a building block to that. World Cup is really not that much of a focus for me anymore; it’s really training for the Olympics.”

A second downhill training day is scheduled for tomorrow. The setting might be different since snowfalls are expected in the next 24 hours.

Results — Training Day 1

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff.
 1  14  206001 HOEFL-RIESCH Maria 1984 GER  1:39.31
 2  18  565243 MAZE Tina 1983 SLO  1:39.32  +1.10
 3  15  55947 FENNINGER Anna 1989 AUT  1:40.00  +0.69
 4  1  515766 SUTER Fabienne 1985 SUI  1:40.27  +0.96
 5  4  55766 STERZ Regina 1985 AUT  1:40.44  +1.13
 6  12  55576 GOERGL Elisabeth 1981 AUT  1:40.60  +1.29
 7  17  55913 MOSER Stefanie 1988 AUT  1:40.61  +1.30
 8  6  537545 MANCUSO Julia 1984 USA  1:40.62  +1.31
 9  27  425880 SEJERSTED Lotte Smiseth 1991 NOR  1:40.65  +1.34
 10  9  537582 COOK Stacey 1984 USA  1:40.71  +1.40
 11  16  355050 WEIRATHER Tina 1989 LIE  1:40.75  +1.44
 12  3  296729 FANCHINI Nadia 1986 ITA  1:40.87  +1.56
 13  30  515573 AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi 1981 SUI  1:40.88  +1.57
 13  2  296008 MERIGHETTI Daniela 1981 ITA  1:40.88  +1.57
 15  5  495318 RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina 1981 SPA  1:40.90  +1.59
 16  22  505886 KLING Kajsa 1988 SWE  1:41.03  +1.72
 16  11  516138 GUT Lara 1991 SUI  1:41.03  +1.72
 18  7  515747 GISIN Dominique 1985 SUI  1:41.29  +1.98
 19  23  296431 STUFFER Verena 1984 ITA  1:41.33  +2.02
 20  37  297702 MARSAGLIA Francesca 1990 ITA  1:41.38  +2.07
 20  25  296427 SCHNARF Johanna 1984 ITA  1:41.38  +2.07
 22  36  155563 KRIZOVA Klara 1989 CZE  1:41.49  +2.18
 22  19  205218 REBENSBURG Viktoria 1989 GER  1:41.49  +2.18
 24  41  297910 CURTONI Elena 1991 ITA  1:41.54  +2.23
 25  47  245066 MIKLOS Edit 1988 HUN  1:41.56  +2.25
 25  20  55750 FISCHBACHER Andrea 1985 AUT  1:41.56  +2.25
 27  13  296472 FANCHINI Elena 1985 ITA  1:41.69  +2.38
 28  21  56128 HUETTER Cornelia 1992 AUT  1:41.72  +2.41
 29  31  55690 HOSP Nicole 1983 AUT  1:41.77  +2.46
 30  32  56125 PUCHNER Mirjam 1992 AUT  1:42.05  +2.74
 31  51  375018 COLETTI Alexandra 1983 MON  1:42.06  +2.75
 32  42  539536 WILES Jacqueline 1992 USA  1:42.10  +2.79
 33  39  565320 FERK Marusa 1988 SLO  1:42.24  +2.93
 34  33  425929 MOWINCKEL Ragnhild 1992 NOR  1:42.54  +3.23
 35  8  515806 JNGLIN-KAMER Nadja 1986 SUI  1:42.64  +3.33
 36  26  106849 YURKIW Larisa 1988 CAN  1:42.65  +3.34
 37  49  538855 FORD Julia 1990 USA  1:42.67  +3.36
 38  56  107312 ROTH Julia 1993 CAN  1:42.68  +3.37
 39  44  298694 PICHLER Karoline 1994 ITA  1:42.76  +3.45
 39  43  56087 SIEBENHOFER Ramona 1991 AUT  1:42.76  +3.45
 41  40  55970 SCHMIDHOFER Nicole 1989 AUT  1:42.87  +3.56
 42  10  515782 KAUFMANN-ABDERHALDEN Marianne 1986 SUI  1:42.91  +3.60
 43  29  196460 MARCHAND-ARVIER Marie 1985 FRA  1:42.94  +3.63
 44  48  197006 GAUTHIER Marine 1990 FRA  1:43.24  +3.93
 45  35  516219 NUFER Priska 1992 SUI  1:43.26  +3.95
 46  28  538305 SMITH Leanne 1987 USA  1:43.38  +4.07
 47  38  197295 PIOT Jennifer 1992 FRA  1:43.42  +4.11
 48  55  505632 LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica 1984 SWE  1:43.51  +4.20
 49  46  515997 FEIERABEND Denise 1989 SUI  1:43.88  +4.57
 50  52  506399 HECTOR Sara 1992 SWE  1:44.05  +4.74
 51  45  197497 MIRADOLI Romane 1994 FRA  1:44.32  +5.01
 52  58  106825 PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier 1988 CAN  1:44.86  +5.55
 53  54  225206 ALCOTT Chemmy 1982 GBR  1:45.47  +6.16
 54  57  435245 CHRAPEK Karolina 1990 POL  1:46.30  +6.99
Did not start 1st run
 53  565400 HORVAT Katja 1993 SLO
 50  55818 KOEHLE Stefanie 1986 AUT
Did not finish 1st run
 34  565333 BRODNIK Vanja 1989 SLO
 24  538573 ROSS Laurenne 1988 USA

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.