Women's Slalom
USA's Kristina Koznick won the last slalom of the season, beating Sweden's young Anja Paerson by 13/100 of a second and Italy's Elisabetta Biavaschi, who achieved her best result ever, by 15/100.

	Koz won the race

In the standings, Christel Saioni was not able to beat Spela Pretnar for the slalom World Cup trophy. Saioni, 2nd in Sestriere last week, only finished 5th in this crucial competition while Pretnar finished 9th. Due to Saioni's poor finish, Pretnar clinched the slalom trophy by a margin of 19 points. It's the first official title that the young Republic of Slovenia celebrates in alpine ski racing. But Yugoslavia had World Cup champions in the past, including Mateja Svet in 1988 and Rok Petrovic and Bojan Krizay in 1986 and 1987.

Saioni fought with determination but not enough to pull ahead on the final flat part of the Stelvio slope covered by soft snow on this sunny day. In the first run, Saioni only clocked the 10th best time. She thought she achieved a strong second run and, for a short moment, remained in the lead after Pretnar crossed the finish line. But then a group of skiers who started after Saioni beat her time, including her teammate Vanessa Vidal, who didn't seem ready to play a team game.

Among those who pushed Saioni back, Krsitina Koznick, relaxed and serene after her last week's victory at Sestriere, skied at her limits to gain this victory.

Despite difficult course conditions and a damaged slope, "Koz" clocked the best time of the second run to take the lead over Biavaschi and the other skiers. Paerson, who won the first run, fought hard for her first win of the season but could not maintain the lead. But her 2nd-place finish was good enough to assure her the 3rd place in the final slalom standings.

"I thought I would loose the Cup when I saw that I finished behind Christel in the second run. I was lucky that a group of skiers finished ahead of her — otherwise it was over for me..." — Spela Pretnar (SLO)

Koznick was excited to win her second race in a row — the fourth of her career. "It's a great feeling to win a race after such an aggressive run; I gave all I could in that final run," Koz said. "I felt great today. I had confidence after winning in Sestriere. It's fantastic to finish the season with this double success."

"As I said so often in recent weeks, this has been a tough winter but positive in the end. I had to learn to be patient, and this will help me a lot in future. I will start at a higher level next season. It's okay to struggle in a season without medal events — it makes you stronger for the big events. At St. Anton and Salt Lake City, I will fight for medals in 2001 and 2002," Koznick added.

Saioni watched the end of the race with her husband, Christophe, in the finish area. "I didn't handle the first run well; I did not ski well today," she said. "I had my worst run of the season this morning — quite bad timing. In the second run, I was skiing pretty well at the beginning, but on the last flats, I lost a lot of time. I tried everything but it was more difficult then I thought."

"I don't want this short defeat to spoil the pleasure I feel looking back to the rest of the season. I didn't plan to play such an important role at the season start and I was not ready for it. After winning the first race, I finished all the slaloms among the top-10 — I can't complain. Those kind of experiences will help me for the next seasons. I have learned a lot during this winter. I don't want to stop here."

	Pretnar won the season

Saioni's successess didn't appear to create a big interest in France. A small delegation of French fans came to support Christel and only a few French journalists came to Bormio hoping to write about her possible triumph. But that was nothing compared to the twenty Slovenian reporters in attendance here this week. There were hundreds of fans including a nice musical group around the finish area. The Slovenians will party for days in the coming week.

For Pretnar, this triumph represents more than a sports achievement: the charming Slovenian is now on her way to becoming one of the biggest stars in her country, where alpine skiing is a major sport.

"Christel fought hard until the end, and I was having problems controlling my nerves today," said Pretnar. "I had to finish close to her to be sure to clinch the Cup — I wasn't able to ski with my usual relaxed attitude. It's really difficult to decide a whole season in just one race. It was a very difficult experience today. I thought I would loose the Cup when I saw that I finished behind Christel in the second run. I was lucky that a group of skiers finished ahead of her — otherwise it was over for me."

"I thought it would be my last season, but now I have to continue at least one more year. Next days are going to be tough too with all the parties which will take place at home," Pretnar added.

The season is over. Everybody will meet again at the end of October on the Austrian glacier in Soelden. Have a nice spring!

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com European Correspondent