Scheyer dominates downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee
After three days of being pummeled with snow, Altenmarkt-Zauchensee saw blue skies and sunshine, allowing them to finally hold a training run and downhill race on Sunday. The morning’s training run had shown that the race could be anyone’s as athletes from the back of the pack charged into the top 10.
Austria’s Christine Scheyer did just that at competition time. She charged from bib 25 to take the lead with a time of 1:21.15, 0.39 seconds ahead of Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather. Skiing down just after Scheyer with bib 26, American Jacqueline Wiles rounded out the podium in third.
Not only was this Scheyer’s first win, but her first time on the World Cup podium, leaving the Austrian stunned. Even after her second-place finish in the training run, she didn’t know how fast she’d be, saying in the press conference that she is feeling strong and thought she could be in the top 10.
“No, not that fast,” she said when asked if she knew she had winning speed. “I was fast in training, but this is amazing.”
Weirather, who earned her third podium result of the season, knew she could be fast on the track.
“It was amazing because at the start, I knew that Lara was leading and I was like, ‘Well, this could be a revival of the Junior World Champs, where I won seven hundredths in front of her’, so I was like trying to believe that I can win this because my training run was really bad and I was still [eighth], so I knew I could do really well,” Weirather said.
Like Scheyer, the third-place athlete was new to the podium. Wiles surprised herself, saying this podium came at a perfect time.
“You dream of it, but for it to actually happen, you know, it’s unreal,” the American shared. “After a tough start to the season, of so many expectations falling flat, I really needed this, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Wiles is sponsored by the Lindsey Vonn Foundation and what a day it was for them as Vonn made her return to the World Cup. Last year, she won the downhill at the Austrian venue, making it a good place for her to return. After a 322-day hiatus due to injury, Vonn ended the day in 13th place, 1.54 seconds off of the winner.
“It was really fun,” Vonn said. “It was definitely a little bit nerve-wracking because of the crashes first run, and I just skied solid in the training run, but there was a big time difference. You know, the track got considerably faster from my training run to the race, so it was hard to kind of find the timing. I felt like I wasn’t quite on my game, but otherwise, I attacked, I was confident in the start, just missed the timing in a couple turns and just have to watch some video, but I know my skiing, I know what I’m capable of, I know what mistakes I made, so all in all, it was a very positive first race.”
The crashes she referred to required two helicopters. Italy’s Nadia Fanchini and Hungary’s Edit Miklos were both evacuated from the hill during the training run. X-rays have shown that Fanchini suffered a fracture of the humerus in her right arm and fractures of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae, which will require surgery. The Hungarian suffered ligament ruptures and a patella injury in her right knee.
Just ahead of Vonn on the results sheet was fellow Speed Unicorn Laurenne Ross, finishing the day in 12th place. Breezy Johnson and Stacey Cook also ended the day in the top 30, earning 16th and 29th, respectively. Alice McKennis and Leanne Smith finished in 34th and 38th.
The U.S. Ski Team’s Julia Mancuso opted to not start the training run or race, tweeting, “Good luck to all the girls today! @AltZau I decided with all the new snow and tough conditions to get back to training.” Fans will have to wait and see when the American will make her comeback.
Slovenian speed queen Ilka Stuhec still holds the lead in the downhill standings with 345 points followed by Switzerland’s Lara Gut with 180 points. Stuhec had a fifth-place result on Sunday with Gut three-hundredths of a second ahead in fourth place.
Mikaela Shiffrin, who did not race in the downhill, continues to lead the season overall standings with 1008 points. Gut made some progress in closing the gap between her and the American. She sits second in the standings with 693 points.
Women’s World Cup action continues in Garmisch, Germany, from Jan. 19-22 while the men race at Kitzbuehel, Austria, from Jan. 17-22.
Top 10
- Christine Scheyer (AUT) – Head / Head / Head
- Tina Weirather (LIE) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Jacqueline Wiles (USA) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Lara Gut (SUI) – Head / Head / Head
- Ilka Stuhec (SLO) – Stoeckli / Lange / Marker
- Johanna Schnarf (AUT) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
- Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
- Priska Nufer (SUI) – Dynastar / Lange / Look
- Nicol Delago (ITA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Jasmine Flury (SUI) – Stoeckli / Lange / Marker
Official Results
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | Diff. | FIS Points | WC Points | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | 56198 | SCHEYER Christine | 1994 | AUT | 1:21.15 | 0.00 | 100.00 | ||
2 | 17 | 355050 | WEIRATHER Tina | 1989 | LIE | 1:21.54 | +0.39 | 6.01 | 80.00 | |
3 | 26 | 539536 | WILES Jacqueline | 1992 | USA | 1:21.69 | +0.54 | 8.32 | 60.00 | |
4 | 9 | 516138 | GUT Lara | 1991 | SUI | 1:21.70 | +0.55 | 8.47 | 50.00 | |
5 | 5 | 565360 | STUHEC Ilka | 1990 | SLO | 1:21.73 | +0.58 | 8.93 | 45.00 | |
6 | 16 | 296427 | SCHNARF Johanna | 1984 | ITA | 1:22.30 | +1.15 | 17.71 | 40.00 | |
7 | 8 | 55970 | SCHMIDHOFER Nicole | 1989 | AUT | 1:22.34 | +1.19 | 18.33 | 36.00 | |
8 | 48 | 516219 | NUFER Priska | 1992 | SUI | 1:22.38 | +1.23 | 18.95 | 32.00 | |
9 | 38 | 299466 | DELAGO Nicol | 1996 | ITA | 1:22.40 | +1.25 | 19.25 | 29.00 | |
10 | 31 | 516248 | FLURY Jasmine | 1993 | SUI | 1:22.47 | +1.32 | 20.33 | 26.00 | |
11 | 10 | 296472 | FANCHINI Elena | 1985 | ITA | 1:22.50 | +1.35 | 20.79 | 24.00 | |
12 | 14 | 538573 | ROSS Laurenne | 1988 | USA | 1:22.58 | +1.43 | 22.03 | 22.00 | |
13 | 7 | 537544 | VONN Lindsey | 1984 | USA | 1:22.69 | +1.54 | 23.72 | 20.00 | |
14 | 28 | 516185 | HAEHLEN Joana | 1992 | SUI | 1:22.75 | +1.60 | 24.65 | 18.00 | |
15 | 11 | 516319 | SUTER Corinne | 1994 | SUI | 1:22.81 | +1.66 | 25.57 | 16.00 | |
16 | 23 | 6535455 | JOHNSON Breezy | 1996 | USA | 1:22.95 | +1.80 | 27.73 | 15.00 | |
17 | 27 | 297702 | MARSAGLIA Francesca | 1990 | ITA | 1:23.09 | +1.94 | 29.88 | 14.00 | |
18 | 20 | 56125 | PUCHNER Mirjam | 1992 | AUT | 1:23.12 | +1.97 | 30.35 | 13.00 | |
18 | 2 | 298323 | GOGGIA Sofia | 1992 | ITA | 1:23.12 | +1.97 | 30.35 | 13.00 | |
20 | 6 | 55576 | GOERGL Elisabeth | 1981 | AUT | 1:23.16 | +2.01 | 30.96 | 11.00 | |
21 | 24 | 425929 | MOWINCKEL Ragnhild | 1992 | NOR | 1:23.18 | +2.03 | 31.27 | 10.00 | |
22 | 3 | 515766 | SUTER Fabienne | 1985 | SUI | 1:23.20 | +2.05 | 31.58 | 9.00 | |
23 | 47 | 197383 | GAUTHIER Tiffany | 1993 | FRA | 1:23.23 | +2.08 | 32.04 | 8.00 | |
23 | 30 | 56177 | VENIER Stephanie | 1993 | AUT | 1:23.23 | +2.08 | 32.04 | 8.00 | |
23 | 4 | 297910 | CURTONI Elena | 1991 | ITA | 1:23.23 | +2.08 | 32.04 | 8.00 | |
26 | 13 | 505886 | KLING Kajsa | 1988 | SWE | 1:23.26 | +2.11 | 32.50 | 5.00 | |
27 | 29 | 56088 | TIPPLER Tamara | 1991 | AUT | 1:23.37 | +2.22 | 34.20 | 4.00 | |
28 | 18 | 56087 | SIEBENHOFER Ramona | 1991 | AUT | 1:23.42 | +2.27 | 34.97 | 3.00 | |
29 | 37 | 107613 | GRENIER Valerie | 1996 | CAN | 1:23.51 | +2.36 | 36.35 | 2.00 | |
29 | 12 | 537582 | COOK Stacey | 1984 | USA | 1:23.51 | +2.36 | 36.35 | 2.00 | |
31 | 53 | 56241 | SCHNEEBERGER Rosina | 1994 | AUT | 1:23.59 | +2.44 | 37.58 | ||
32 | 35 | 516284 | GISIN Michelle | 1993 | SUI | 1:23.70 | +2.55 | 39.28 | ||
33 | 39 | 56224 | MAIER Sabrina | 1994 | AUT | 1:23.73 | +2.58 | 39.74 | ||
34 | 21 | 538685 | MCKENNIS Alice | 1989 | USA | 1:23.75 | +2.60 | 40.05 | ||
35 | 22 | 296431 | STUFFER Verena | 1984 | ITA | 1:23.77 | +2.62 | 40.36 | ||
36 | 49 | 155763 | LEDECKA Ester | 1995 | CZE | 1:23.79 | +2.64 | 40.67 | ||
37 | 45 | 515997 | FEIERABEND Denise | 1989 | SUI | 1:23.81 | +2.66 | 40.97 | ||
38 | 41 | 538305 | SMITH Leanne | 1987 | USA | 1:23.93 | +2.78 | 42.82 | ||
39 | 36 | 206460 | WENIG Michaela | 1992 | GER | 1:23.95 | +2.80 | 43.13 | ||
40 | 46 | 375018 | COLETTI Alexandra | 1983 | MON | 1:24.00 | +2.85 | 43.90 | ||
41 | 32 | 206668 | WEIDLE Kira | 1996 | GER | 1:24.19 | +3.04 | 46.83 | ||
42 | 43 | 197295 | PIOT Jennifer | 1992 | FRA | 1:24.30 | +3.15 | 48.52 | ||
43 | 44 | 206520 | DORSCH Patrizia | 1994 | GER | 1:24.41 | +3.26 | 50.22 | ||
44 | 34 | 197497 | MIRADOLI Romane | 1994 | FRA | 1:24.49 | +3.34 | 51.45 | ||
45 | 40 | 426043 | TVIBERG Maria Therese | 1994 | NOR | 1:24.63 | +3.48 | 53.60 | ||
46 | 42 | 565320 | FERK Marusa | 1988 | SLO | 1:24.66 | +3.51 | 54.07 | ||
47 | 52 | 299276 | BASSINO Marta | 1996 | ITA | 1:24.97 | +3.82 | 58.84 | ||
48 | 51 | 565333 | BRODNIK Vanja | 1989 | SLO | 1:25.15 | +4.00 | 61.61 | ||
49 | 33 | 196812 | PELLISSIER Marion | 1988 | FRA | 1:25.42 | +4.27 | 65.77 | ||
50 | 54 | 155503 | KLICNAROVA Pavla | 1988 | CZE | 1:25.72 | +4.57 | 70.39 | ||
51 | 55 | 107387 | CRAWFORD Candace | 1994 | CAN | 1:26.19 | +5.04 | 77.63 | ||
52 | 56 | 35089 | SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena | 1984 | ARG | 1:27.14 | +5.99 | 92.27 | ||
Did not start 1st run | ||||||||||
15 | 245066 | MIKLOS Edit | 1988 | HUN | ||||||
1 | 296729 | FANCHINI Nadia | 1986 | ITA | ||||||
Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
50 | 485749 | PROKOPYEVA Aleksandra | 1994 | RUS | ||||||
19 | 205218 | REBENSBURG Viktoria | 1989 | GER |