Sestriere: Fischbacher, Suter tie for SG win
Two first time winners graced the podium for the women's World Cup super G at Sestriere, Italy Sunday as Andrea Fischbacher and Fabienne Suter tallied identical one minute 21.06 second times. With a single super G left on the schedule, Maria Riesch solidified her place at the top of the standings with a third place finish and a total of 334pts, while her challengers jockeyed for position behind her.
Emily Brydon who entered the race just 20pts behind Riesch, failed to finish her run and dropped to fourth in the super G standings. Elisabeth Goergl finished sixth in the race behind Renate Goetschl's fifth but holds a 20pt lead over her veteran teammate, 281-261.
The race also produced a tie at the top of the overall standings as Nicole Hosp finished two placings ahead of Lindsey Vonn. Three points behind entering the day, Hosp placed 14th to Vonn's 16th deadlocking the pair at the top of the board with 983pts each. Riesch holds third and closed to 891pts.
Two first-time winners graced the podium for the women's World Cup super G at Sestriere, Italy Sunday as Andrea Fischbacher and Fabienne Suter tallied identical one minute 21.06 second times. With a single super G left on the schedule, Maria Riesch solidified her place at the top of the standings with a third place finish and a total of 334 points, while her challengers jockeyed for position behind her.
Emily Brydon who entered the race just 20 points behind Riesch, failed to finish her run and dropped to fourth in the super G standings. Elisabeth Goergl finished sixth in the race behind Renate Goetschl's fifth but holds a 20-point lead over her veteran teammate, 281-261.
The race also produced a tie at the top of the overall standings as Nicole Hosp finished two placings ahead of Lindsey Vonn. Three points behind entering the day, Hosp placed 14th to Vonn's 16th deadlocking the pair at the top of the board with 983 points each. Riesch holds third and closed to 891pts.
A light headwind picked up just as the favorites came down. The top American finisher was Julia Mancuso in eighth. Her pace was faster than the winners through the first interval timing but she lost time at the bottom of the course as she skied into the headwind.
Other North American placings included Britt Janyk in 12th, Kelly VanderBeek 18th, Stacey Cook 24th and Leanne Smith got her first points outside of North America in 27th place.
Both winners could celebrate their first victory. Fischbacher had previously been second twice but had not been on a podium this season. Suter had not been better than seventh previously.
The race as held up after a nasty crash by Austrian Maria Holaus, a super G winner earlier this season at Cortina. She fell suddenly and hit the ground hard at full speed. She was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in nearby Torino with a head injury, race organizers said, adding that she did not lose consciousness. No futher information was immediately available.
Vonn to skip Zagreb SL
Vonn never found the groove she had Saturday in collecting the 12th victory of her career. In DH, skiers get a minimum of one training run and preferably two on the speed course; they had three on Sestriere's Kandahar Banchetta track. In super G, they never train the course and only get to inspect it before a race.
Vonn said she would skip the next race, a slalom Friday in Zagreb, Croatia, so she could rest at home before the final weeks of the season with their inevitable pressures. "I'm going to take it easy, then go to Vancouver [downhill and a super combined blending a super G and slalom Feb. 22-24] and check out the Olympic courses," she said.
"Lindsey had a solid run and didn't seem to make any big mistakes, although she had a little problem at the top," head coach Patrick Riml said. "She didn't seem to be charging like yesterday, but she was solid, so we'll have to check the video on that run.
"Julia got caught in some soft snow yesterday, but she's been skiing so well all week and she had a solid run, too. Great result for Leanne. I was really pleased to see that. Stacey had a little mistake up top and it's tough to make up time on this course, so that was it," he said.
The next women's race is the night slalom Friday in Zagreb, which draws 40,000 or more each year for a carnival-like atmosphere. Then the women head to British Columbia's Whistler Mountain, the Olympic hill for 2010.
— The AP and USSA contributed
The SCOOP
By Hank McKee
Equipment
Women's super G, Sestriere, Italy, Feb. 10, 2008
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Fischbacher, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
1 Suter, Stoeckli/Salomon/Atomic
3 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia
4 Meissnitzer, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
5 Goetschl, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
6 Goergl, Head/Head/Head
7 Styger, Volkl/Lange/Marker
8 Mancuso, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
9 Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
10 Sponring, Head/Tecnica/Tyrolia
Women's super G, Sestriere, Italy, Feb. 10, 2008. … It is the 27th race of the women's 38 event 2008 World Cup schedule. … It is the sixth of seven scheduled super G's. … It is the 54th World Cup race held at Sestriere. … the sixth super G and fourth women's super G at Sestriere.
It is the first career World Cup victory for Fabienne Suter. … Her previous best result had been seventh in downhill earlier this season at St Moritz Feb. 2. … her best previous SG result was an eighth, also scored this season at Cortina Jan. 21. … Nine of her 14 career scoring results have come this season and six of them in super G.
It is the first career World Cup victory for Andrea Fischbacher. … She had been twice two times previously and third once all in super G, but had placed better than eighth this season.
It is the 16th career podium for Maria Riesch. … Her seventh in super G. … It is her sixth podium of the season and her third in super G this season. … She maintained the lead in the super G standings.
It is the 13th top 10 result of the season for Julia Mancuso. … It is her third best SG result of the season. … It is the 11th best of 13 scoring results this season for Britt Janyk. … Her fifth best SG result. … It is the 17th best of 21 results this season for Lindsey Vonn. … All of her lesser results have come in slalom. … It is the ninth best of 12 scoring results this season for Kelly VanderBeek. … It is the eighth scoring result of the season for Stacey Cook. … Her third in SG. … It is the third career scoring result for Leanne Smith, all of them coming this season. … Her other results were at Lake Louise in early December.
Winning margin was .24 of a second. … Top 11 were within a second. … Top 24 within two seconds. … Nicole Hosp (14th in race) and Lindsey Vonn (16th in race) are tied at the top of the World Cup overall standings with 983pts. &h
ellip; Riesch is third at 891.
Riesch leads the super G standings 334-281 for Elisabeth Goergl (sixth in race) and 261 for Renate Goetschl (fifth in race). … Brydon is fourth at 243 with just one super G left to contest at World Cup finals in March. … Austria leads the women's Nations Cup 5135-2168 over Italy. … The U.S. is third at 2100pts.
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Total Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 11 | 55750 | FISCHBACHER Andrea | 1985 | AUT | 1:21.06 | 0.00 |
| 1 | 2 | 515766 | SUTER Fabienne | 1985 | SUI | 1:21.06 | 0.00 |
| 3 | 21 | 206001 | RIESCH Maria | 1984 | GER | 1:21.30 | 3.05 |
| 4 | 10 | 55212 | MEISSNITZER Alexandra | 1973 | AUT | 1:21.44 | 4.83 |
| 5 | 18 | 55069 | GOETSCHL Renate | 1975 | AUT | 1:21.53 | 5.97 |
| 6 | 16 | 55576 | GOERGL Elisabeth | 1981 | AUT | 1:21.58 | 6.61 |
| 7 | 4 | 515170 | STYGER Nadia | 1978 | SUI | 1:21.65 | 7.50 |
| 8 | 13 | 537545 | MANCUSO Julia | 1984 | USA | 1:21.90 | 10.67 |
| 9 | 17 | 505483 | PAERSON Anja | 1981 | SWE | 1:21.96 | 11.44 |
| 10 | 3 | 55691 | SPONRING Christine | 1983 | AUT | 1:21.97 | 11.56 |
| 11 | 6 | 505632 | LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica | 1984 | SWE | 1:22.02 | 12.20 |
| 12 | 9 | 106022 | JANYK Britt | 1980 | CAN | 1:22.08 | 12.96 |
| 13 | 8 | 515560 | SCHILD Martina | 1981 | SUI | 1:22.10 | 13.21 |
| 14 | 20 | 55690 | HOSP Nicole | 1983 | AUT | 1:22.15 | 13.85 |
| 15 | 15 | 565243 | MAZE Tina | 1983 | SLO | 1:22.19 | 14.36 |
| 16 | 19 | 537544 | VONN Lindsey | 1984 | USA | 1:22.44 | 17.54 |
| 17 | 28 | 495318 | RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina | 1981 | SPA | 1:22.51 | 18.42 |
| 18 | 26 | 106402 | VANDERBEEK Kelly | 1983 | CAN | 1:22.65 | 20.20 |
| 19 | 37 | 515849 | DETTLING Andrea | 1987 | SUI | 1:22.66 | 20.33 |
| 20 | 30 | 296729 | FANCHINI Nadia | 1986 | ITA | 1:22.89 | 23.25 |
| 21 | 35 | 196460 | MARCHAND-ARVIER Marie | 1985 | FRA | 1:22.91 | 23.51 |
| 22 | 24 | 195671 | JACQUEMOD Ingrid | 1978 | FRA | 1:22.99 | 24.52 |
| 23 | 25 | 55590 | SCHILD Marlies | 1981 | AUT | 1:23.00 | 24.65 |
| 24 | 1 | 537582 | COOK Stacey | 1984 | USA | 1:23.05 | 25.29 |
| 25 | 32 | 55838 | ZETTEL Kathrin | 1986 | AUT | 1:23.13 | 26.30 |
| 26 | 27 | 55539 | BERGER Silvia | 1980 | AUT | 1:23.14 | 26.43 |
| 27 | 41 | 538305 | SMITH Leanne | 1987 | USA | 1:23.22 | 27.45 |
| 28 | 36 | 515806 | KAMER Nadja | 1986 | SUI | 1:23.34 | 28.97 |
| 29 | 31 | 155415 | ZAHROBSKA Sarka | 1985 | CZE | 1:23.40 | 29.73 |
| 30 | 42 | 296476 | ALFIERI Camilla | 1985 | ITA | 1:23.61 | 32.40 |
| 31 | 48 | 225206 | ALCOTT Chemmy | 1982 | GBR | 1:23.66 | 33.04 |
| 32 | 50 | 196573 | REVILLET Aurelie | 1986 | FRA | 1:23.67 | 33.16 |
| 33 | 33 | 55947 | FENNINGER Anna | 1989 | AUT | 1:23.70 | 33.55 |
| 34 | 34 | 206175 | STECHERT Gina | 1987 | GER | 1:23.79 | 34.69 |
| 35 | 44 | 296473 | SIORPAES Wendy | 1985 | ITA | 1:23.92 | 36.34 |
| 36 | 38 | 296379 | GIANESINI Giulia | 1984 | ITA | 1:24.01 | 37.48 |
| 37 | 43 | 296472 | FANCHINI Elena | 1985 | ITA | 1:24.19 | 39.77 |
| 38 | 51 | 538038 | MARSHALL Chelsea | 1986 | USA | 1:24.44 | 42.95 |
| 39 | 45 | 296427 | SCHNARF Johanna | 1984 | ITA | 1:24.48 | 43.46 |
| 40 | 53 | 375018 | COLETTI Alexandra | 1983 | MON | 1:24.51 | 43.84 |
| 41 | 47 | 195983 | ROLLAND Marion | 1982 | FRA | 1:24.71 | 46.38 |
| 42 | 23 | 295136 | CECCARELLI Daniela | 1975 | ITA | 1:24.84 | 48.03 |
| 43 | 46 | 565261 | ROBNIK Petra | 1984 | SLO | 1:25.52 | 56.67 |
| 44 | 39 | 296438 | TROJER Karoline | 1984 | ITA | 1:25.58 | 57.43 |
| 45 | 52 | 495615 | MORLANS Leyre | 1987 | SPA | 1:26.74 | 72.17 |
| 46 | 54 | 115127 | MARINOVIC Florencia | 1991 | CHI | 1:30.15 | 115.50 |
 |
| Official timekeeper |
Did not start 1st run : LUDLOW Libby (USA)
Did not finish 1st run : GISIN Dominique (SUI), BENT Nike (SWE), DUMERMUTH Monika (SUI), BRYDON Emily (CAN), HOLAUS Maria (AUT), AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi (SUI), GUT Lara (SUI)
About the Author: Pete Rugh
