Maier Breaks Records Bormio, Italy Renate Goetschl and Hermann Maier are the overall champions after the World Cup alpine finals. Maier not only broke 2000 points in 2000, but swept the titles by winning GS, Super G, Downhill and Overall trophies. Sestrière, Italy Sonja Nef took the women's giant slalom today on the slopes of Sestriere, Italy, closing the gap on overall leader Michaela Dorfmesiter to 38 points. But the big win went to the 2nd place finisher, little-known Carolina Ruiz Castillo. Schladming, Austria Austrians Christian Mayer and Hermann Maier left Hinterstoder great winners today: the first won his third race of the season and the other his second Overall World Cup title, after finishing 3rd in this demanding race. Going into the Finals, the battle will rage on between these two top skiers. Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Christian Mayer today became only the third skier to win a second giant slalom race on the demanding Kranjska Gora course and made it 20 wins out of 31 races for the Austrian men. Lenzerheide, Switzerland The outsiders obviously wanted to celebrate the last downhill prior to the World Cup Finals at Bormio unknown Swiss skier, Corinne Imlig, won the first downhill of her career, making the best out of the long course that was in better condition for the late-starters of the race. Kvitfjell, Norway With no wins in the men's or women's races Sunday, it was a tough day for the normally jubilant Austrian ski fans. But even worse, the "Reds and Whites" lost their first men's super G since February 1997 as Italy's Kristian Ghedina beat Hermann Maier, with time to spare. All was not lost, however, Maier claimed his third super G title in three years. Yong Pyong, Korea Slovenia's World Cup veteran Mitja Kunc became the eighth skier this season to celebrate his first success in a slalom after he won a gate race held in polar temperatures in Korea's Yong Pyong top ski resort. Innsbruck, Austria After taking 2nd yesterday behind Canadian Melanie Turgeon, the super G World Cup leader and top favorite for the Overall victory Renate Goetschl (AUT) had something to prove on this second consecutive super G race on the Olympic Pascherkofel run . Adelboden, Switzerland In Adelboden, Switzerland, Slovenia's Matjaz Vrhovnik was rewarded for his consistency in slalom this season with the first World Cup win of his career. Vrhovnik is the sixth skier in eight races, and fifth in a row, to have celebrated his first World Cup victory in slalom this season. Are, Sweden Spela Pretnar may have celebrated her most important slalom victory today in Are, where she beat all the other favorites for the fourth time this season and after a reckless second run. St. Anton, Austria In St. Anton, Austrian Werner Franz celebrated his first World Cup win, sharing the honor in a tie with Fritz Strobl not to be confused with yesterday's winner, Josef Strobl. Santa Caterina, Italy Slovenia's Spela Pretnar is proving to be an excellent "slalom dancer" this season, winning three slalom races thus far, and taking the lead in the slalom World Cup standings with this victory in Santa Caterina. Todtnau, Germany Interviewed just after his record-breaking win last weekend, Maier, who leads the competition by over 500 points, talked about setting new records and finding new momentum Todtnau, Germany Rainer Schoenfelder won his first World Cup race today, taking the Todtnau slalom. This was the Austrian squad's 16th victory of the season, bringing it close to a new team record. Garmisch, Germany Hermann Maier perfectly celebrated the third anniversary of his first World Cup victory in Bavaria's Garmisch-Partenkirchen in winning his eighth race of the season on Saturday, moving into a tie with his legendary compatriot Franz Klammer as the most successful Austrian skier in the history of the World Cup tour. Kitzbühel, Austria In an unprecedented win, little-known Mario Matt from Austria came from behind and won the prestigious Hahnenkamm slalom, amazing the top contenders and everyone involved in the World Cup "White Circus." Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy Swedish skier Anna Ottosson celebrated her first World Cup victory today, after achieving a number of top-three finishes during previous seasons. Using a new pair of aggressive skis on the demanding course helped her clinch the victory. Wengen, Switzerland Norwegian Kjetil Aamodt joined the ranks of an elite group of skiers with this slalom win. He is the fourth person is World Cup history to win in all five disciples, slalom, giant slalom, downhill, super G and combined. Altenmarkt, Austria After a slow season start in the speed events, the Austrian team struck back in the fourth super G of the season, taking the first two places and beating two top German skiers. Berchtesgaden, Germany Winning a ski race sometimes comes down to simply gliding well. Such was the case under the lights in Berchtesgaden, where Slovene Spela Pretnar, won the slalom with time to spare. Chamonix, France 30-year-old Angelo Weiss surprised everybody (and himself), beating Norway's Aamodt and many other slalom favorites and making his first trip to the podium. Maribor, Slovenia On the demanding Pohorje slope, Norway's Trine Bakke celebrated her 25th birthday a week early with her first slalom win of the season . Lienz, Austria Many years from now Sabine Egger may be remembered as the winner of the last World Cup race of the 20th century. Kranjska Gora, Slovenia Coming back from injuries, Switzerland's Didier Plaschy became the first Swiss to win a World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora. Alta Badia, Italy Frenchman Joel Chenal's dreams came true today when he beat an amazing list of competitors - including Hermann Maier - to take the giant slalom win in Alta Badia, Italy. Val Gardena, Italy Austria's Andreas Schifferer surprised all the favorites in the race and won the men's downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, today, denying Italy's Kristian Ghedina a shot at a new record. St. Moritz, Switzerland Concluding a weekend full of injuries, Italy's Alessandra Merlin took 2nd and Karen Putzer took top honors Sunday at the St. Moritz super G. It marks her first World Cup victory. Madonna di Campiglio, Italy Norway's Finn Christian Jagge, in what he referred to as the "battle of the oldies," beat current slalom World Champion Thomas Stangassinger under the lights in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy. Sestriere, Italy Croatia's young Janica Kostelic, ignoring the pain in her hip from a crash on Friday, came back to dominate both runs in the World Cup slalom in Sestriere, Italy Val d'Isère, France The men's downhill and giant slalom in Val d'Isère were cancelled due to heavy snowfall. Austrian team members Christian Mayer and Hermann "The Herminator" Maier took the opportunity to shovel sidewalks. Val d'Isère, France Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister continued her successful run of giant slaloms by winning her second race in a week, which puts her at the top of the Overall World Cup standings in Val d'Isère. Lake Louise, AB, Canada Hermann Maier didn't wait long to prove who's the boss on the World Cup circuit. A day after his first defeat of the winter, The Herminator struck back in super G at Lake Louise. Serre Chevalier, France Seventeen-year-old Janica Kostelic achieved her biggest dream today in Serre Chevalier, winning her first World Cup slalom after two very aggressive runs. Beaver Creek, CO, USA There was no surprise in the last men's event at Beaver Creek. On the short yet very demanding super G course, Hermann Maier dominated once again, celebrating his fourth consecutive victory of the season. Lake Louise, AB, Canada The first downhill and super G races of the season were held in excellent conditions at Lake Louise, Canada. Isolde Kostner (ITA) took the downhill and Mojca Suhadolc (SLO) celebrated her first win in seven years of racing. Beaver Creek, CO, USA Austrian Hermann Maier is back to form on his "home" turf of Beaver Creek, site of last year's World Championships. Swiss Michael von Greunigen took second and the Americans had a good day as well. Copper Mountain, CO, USA North America's first World Cup races of the season belonged to France. World Cup veteran Regine Cavagnoud took the giant slalom and Christel Saioni was number one in slalom but she shared the podium with Slovenia's Spela Pretnar in the second tie in a slalom in World Cup history. Tignes, France Switzerland's Sonia Nef won her first World Cup giant slalom victory in Tignes, France after a tough fight against grueling weather conditions and determined rivals. And the Herminator is back. Women's GS Men's GS A demanding season awaits the best skiers in the world a total of 80 events will be jammed into five months, culminating at the World Cup finals in Bormio, Italy. The 34th World Cup season begins this weekend on the "Grande Motte" glacier above Tignes, in the French Alps. |
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