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Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA
November 20, 1999
Women's Slalom
The French ski team is having a great time here in Colorado: 24 hours after her teammate Regine Cavagnoud took the giant slalom, Christel Saioni celebrated a superb victory on the slopes overlooking Copper Mountain as she tied for first place with Slovenia's Spela Pretnar in the first World Cup slalom of the season.
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 Saioni/Pretnar tied for 1st |
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Norway's Trine Bakke, the fastest skier in the first run, finished 3rd at 30/100 of a second behind both winners. Last February this Scandinavian also took 3rd at the Ski World Championships in Vail.
The winner of that race, Australia's Zali Steggall, was not in her best form today. She had a slow first run and did not qualify for the second run. Like a few other World Cup skiers, Steggall is still using long racing skis which are not very efficient on flat sections.
It's the second tie in a slalom in World Cup history: in March 1997, Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg and Italy's Lara Magoni both finished ahead in the slalom during last year's World Championships in Vail, Colorado. Saioni and Pretnar, 2nd and 3rd in the first leg behind Trine Bakke, fought hard for victory in the afternoon. Pretnar clocked the second fastest time in that run, behind Janica Kostelic of Croatia, and a half of a second ahead of a lucky Saioni.
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| "The conditions were perfect for me despite my start number 20. I achieved a long-time dream today. I have been racing for seven years on the French team and it was about time for me to get on the podium..." —Christel Saioni, FRA |
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"My favorite was Trine who already won a race last season so I was able to take a lot of risks again," explained Saioni. Her husband, Christophe, carried her in triumph after she tied for the win. "It's great to have him next to me," she said of Christophe, who is one of the best GS skiers on the men's French team.
Having won a Nor-Am slalom last week at Breckenridge, Saioni felt able to have another strong result here.
"The conditions were perfect for me despite my start number 20. I achieved a long-time dream today. I have been racing for seven years on the French team and it was about time for me to get on the podium," she said.
Saioni's best results so far were a couple of 7th places in slalom in 1997 and 1999.
Saioni uses the new short skis produced last year by Salomon, as do her teammates, all of whom scored points in this race. "Our trainers told us last spring that we have to skip on the shorter models because it was the new trend in slalom," she explained. "It was definitely an advantage for us because we could train the entire summer with the new material while many other teams were still testing. "
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Bakke |
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Spela Pretnar celebrated a kind of revenge here in Colorado. In the World Championships at Vail, she was skiing for gold in the slalom when she straddled a gate at the end of the second run. She later won a slalom in Åre, Sweden, but she couldn't really enjoy that success.
"I needed a long time to get over my disappointment from Vail," Pretnar said. "In fact, I almost quit ski racing last Spring to come to the USA to study economy. I even missed the first training camp, but then I decided that ski racing was still fun and I changed my mind. It's great to start the season that way. In past years, I always faced health problems or injuries at the beginning of the winter. Now I feel ready for more."
This is also the case for Kristina Koznick who was not happy at all with her result. "I feel frustrated," she said after her race."It's tough for me to race in the US because I put so much pressure on myself to excel. I know that I can ski better than this."
But Koznick has to be content with 14th place — perhaps the US skier still needs to get used to her new skis after switching gear this summer.
"I'm happy with this model," she said of her skis, which are longer than the top finisher's. "I don't want to get confused with more testing. I have to focus on my skiing."
Another US skier, Sarah Schleper, also scored points, placing 20th, her best result in a World Cup slalom.
Women's racing will continue next week in Lake Louise, Alberta, with downhill and slalom events.
—Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent