Hilde Gerg (GER)

DOB:  10/19/1975  Hometown:  Lenggries

The next German contender has arrived. Hilde Gerg, the new leader of the German women's team, had another strong World Cup season during '98-'99, finishing a best ever second in the overall standings. The 24-year-old Bavarian had an exciting string of victories in December and January when she won her first downhill at Veysonnaz, Switzerland and a super G at Maribor, in Slovenia. But Gerg flopped at the Vail World Championships, missing the podium in every race and joining her teammates on the sidelines. This was not the case in previous major events.

At the Sestriere Worlds in '97 and Nagano Olympics, Gerg captured four medals including the Olympic slalom gold. However, last season she only scored one top-three result in slalom, a second place at Maribor. Gerg fell out of the first seed, slipping to 19th place in the international start-list by the end of the season.

Gerg, despite her young age, is a veteran on the World Cup tour. She was only 18 when she qualified for the '94 Olympics at Lillehammer by winning the previous super G at Sierra Nevada. She would wait over two years to win again at Val d'Isère. Gerg went on to dominate super G races during the entire '96-'97 season, and she picked up the super G Crystal Globe at the World Cup finals that year. It was the first time since '92 that anyone had beaten her famous teammate, Katja Seizinger, in the super G standings. Gerg has collected eight World Cup wins in five events, including a parallel race in December '97. Yet she has made it to the podium only once in giant slalom.

Gerg grew up in a resort well known for producing great athletes such as Michaela Gerg-Leitner and Martina Ertl, the two-time giant slalom World Cup Champion. Gerg's parents run a mountain restaurant, the Toelzer Hutte, which serves typical Bavarian food.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent