Lake Louise: Swiss Schild tops SG for first win

Switzerland’s resurgence as an alpine powerhouse continued Sunday as Martina Schild bested the field to capture the opening women’s World Cup super G in Lake Louise. It was her first win on the World Cup circuit.  
    Second place went to Germany’s Maria Riesch who has seen success in Lake Louise, winning one of two downhills held at the resort in 2006. Julia Mancuso was the best performer for the U. S., finishing 11th. Lindsey Vonn, Saturday’s downhill victor, caught and edge on a sweeping turn and went into the safety net. Apparently unhurt Vonn skied to the bottom of the course.

SWITZERLAND'S resurgence as an alpine powerhouse continued Sunday as Martina Schild bested the field to capture the opening women’s World Cup super G in Lake Louise. It was her first win on the World Cup circuit.
    Schild, who is the Swiss national downhill champion, has had success before in super G, placing third in Reiteralm last season. Her win was the Swiss team’s third of this young season, more victories than the squad had all last year. 
    Second place went to Germany’s Maria Riesch who has seen success in Lake Louise, winning one of two downhills held at the resort in 2006.
    Jessica Lindell-Vikarby from Sweden skied to a career-best result in third.
    Schild was second in downhill at the Torino Olympics, but her best World Cup finish was a third in super G last year. She came into Sunday's race confident but surprised herself.   
    ''For the super-G I had a good feeling but was I going to win? No,'' she said. ''It was a run to go and risk. I tried to do it and it was very good.''
    The United States was not a factor in the race after its best hope, Lindsey Vonn, Saturday’s downhill victor, caught and edge on a sweeping turn and went into the safety net. Vonn said she was sore and bruised but not seriously injured.
    Julia Mancuso was the best performer for the U. S., finishing 11th. Last season’s Ski Racing junior of the Year, Leanne Smith, continued to impress, finishing 19th from the 45th start position.
    Olympian Libby Ludlow, coming back from knee surgery, was 26th in the flat light and 10-degree weather.
    "It was a really good day for Smith. She was charging all the way," U.S. speed coach Alex Hoedlmoser said. "She was listening to course reports and then she executed. It's always good to see that kind of response."
    He said visibility was tricky because of the overcast sky and flat light. "Jules [Mancuso] would have had a better result, for sure, but when she skied [17th] she had really bad light and she couldn't even see the ground through the first seven or eight gates," he explained.
    The super G course took its toll on many as some 16 racers went out including Austria’s veteran star Renate Goetschl. Kaylin Richardson was also a victim of the 41-gate course as well.

The Swiss fight back
After a disappointing performance in the downhill, the Swiss team fought back with four skiers finishing among the top 15. Schild, 17th on Saturday, was keen to prove that she can do better yet she didn’t expect to beat all the other favorites on that demanding course.
    “I trained well in super G last summer and I felt confident prior the race, but I was not dreaming about a podium today and certainly not about that victory,” she candidly admitted afterward.
    “I guess I managed to find the best rhythm on that slope today. It was surely a fast run and the snow was quite aggressive too,” she added. “I was charging because I was not too pleased with my performance in the downhill even though I didn’t make major mistakes yesterday. The trainers were quite unhappy with our results yesterday so we all tried harder today.   
    “It’s surely a wonderful moment which I can compare with my success at the 2006 Olympics in San Sicario where I clinched silver in the downhill. Last year was quite difficult for me because everybody was expecting a lot for me. I felt the pressure and I tried too hard. Now I am more relaxed and more focused too. This victory is great for the entire team. We were expecting it for a long time now.”
    In fact the Swiss women have not done so well since Nadia Styger’s last win at Hafjell, Norway, in March 2006 when she tied for first place in a super G with Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister and USA’s Lindsey Kildow (now Vonn).

    — The Associated Press and Patrick Lang contributed to this story

THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee
Equipment
Women's super G, Lake Louise, Alberta, Dec. 2, 2007
Skier, skis/boot/bindings
1 Schild, Volkl/Lange/Marker
2 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
3 Lindell-Vikarby, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
4 Meissnitzer, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
5 Aufdenblatten, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
6 Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
7 Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
8 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9 Janyk, Volkl/Lange/Marker
10 Suter, Stoeckli/Salomon/Atomic

Women's super G, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, Dec. 2, 2007. … It is the sixth race of the women's 39 event 2007-08 World Cup schedule. … It is the first of seven scheduled super G's. … It is the final race of four (two women's) held at Lake Louise this season. … It is the 65th World Cup race held at Lake Louise. … the 22nd super G. … The 14th women's super G.
    It is the first career World Cup win for Martina Schild. … Her previous best had been third in SG at Reiteralm Dec. 16, 2007. … It is the third win for the Swiss this season, more than the team earned last season. … All three wins (Marc Gini Nov. 11 in slalom at Reiteralm, Daniel Albrecht Nov. 29 in combined, and Schild) have come from first time winners.
    It is the 11 career podium for Maria Riesch. …Her fifth in super G. … It is her second Cup podium at Lake Louise having won a downhill a season ago. … She was second (SG) and fourth (DH) at Lake Louise this season in her last two races. … It is the first podium of the season for Germany.
    It is the first career World Cup podium for Jessica Lindell-Vikarby. … Her previous best a fourth in downhill at Lenzerheide Dec. 21, 2002. … Her previous best in SG was eighth at Cortina Jan. 19, 2007. … It is the first podium of the season for Sweden. … It is the first race of the women's season without an Austrian on the podium.
    It is the 11th career World Cup top ten result for Britt Janyk. … her second of the season having been third in downhill yesterday. … It is the 13th best SG career for Julia Mancuso's World Cup career. … It is her fourth best career result at Lake Louise, and second best at super G. … it is the 18th best career World Cup result for Kelly Vanderbeek. … Her fourth best at Lake Louise. … It is her third best at Lake Louise in SG.
… It is the second career World Cup result, and second in two days for Leanne Smith who had been 23rd in DH. … 26th matches her third best result at Lake Louise, and is one placing better than she had been in SG at the site last season.
    Marlies Schild (30th in race) maintains the lead in the World Cup overall standings 263-226 over Nicola Hosp (sixth in race). … Denise Karbon (did not race) is third with 209pts. … Maria Riesch moves into fourth at 172. … Julia Mancuso is the top North American in the overall standings is seventh at 165. … As it is the first SG of the women's season, Martina Schild leads the SG standings over Riesch 100-80. Winning margin is two tenths of a second. … Top nine skiers are with a second. … Top 29 within two seconds.

World Cup women's super G

Did not finish 1st run: CASANOVA Carmen (SUI), DREV Ana (SLO), KRIZOVA Klara (CZE), MORLANS Leyre (SPA), YURKIW Larisa (CAN), COLETTI Alexandra (MON), MERIGHETTI Daniela (ITA), ROBNIK Petra (SLO), CHMELAR Fanny (GER), REBENSBURG Viktoria (GER), FENNINGER Anna (AUT), VONN Lindsey (USA), GOETSCHL Renate (AUT), SPONRING Christine (AUT), MARCHAND-ARVIER Marie (FRA), RICHARDSON Kaylin (USA)