Women's Slalom
Many years from now Sabine Egger may be remembered as the winner of the last World Cup race of the 20th century — a women's slalom held under sunny skies in Lienz, in the southern part of Austria also known as "Ostirol."

Some eventually may recall that she was also the defending slalom World Cup Champion when she did it — but for sure only a very few may also tell the story of her furious attack in the second run and all the disasters which also marked this last competition. In fact, only a small group of racers left the finish area with a good feeling in their hearts and a smile on their faces.

	Sabine Egger

Egger, who was 11th after the first run, had nothing to loose when she went back at the start for the second run. The first run was dominated by Sweden's teenager Anja Paerson, who clocked the fastest time after an almost perfect run, in front of Norway's Trine Bakke, Christel Saioni from France and Zali Steggall from Australia.

In fact Egger went for it with all her determination in the afternoon, at least to honor her numerous fans who waited for her at the finish line holding up a huge banner with her picture painted on it. After a tough ride over the ruts and the bumps, Egger took over the lead in the intermediate standings ahead of her teammate Karin Koellerer, another survivor in her own way.

Koellerer underwent arthroscopic surgery earlier this month for an injury sustained last November in Colorado, and she was more than lucky to qualify for the second run after clocking only the 30th fastest time in the morning, joining another racer for the last spot in the cut.

Cruising on an excellent course, she was one of the few who could say so afterwards — Koellerer achieved the run of her life to remain in the lead for a long time, until Egger moved ahead in her second run. After Egger's arrival, 10 more racers were still waiting at the start with hopes to beat her performance. But they didn't know what bad shape the course was in at that point, and what a struggle it would be for them to reach the finish line.

"It's funny to be the last winner of the century — but it will also be nice to become the first one in the next century..." — Sabine Egger (AUT)

In fact, the disastrous part of the race started at this moment. None of the next skiers managed to come through without a major mistake or a crash, including Renate Goetschl, the overall World Cup leader.

It was more important at that point to ski with guts than with good technique — only two racers managed this. Both come from Slovenia and both improved their position. Spela Pretnar, who tied for the win at Copper Mountain, moved up from 10th to 4th place despite a series of bad mistakes in the lower part of the course, while Natasa Bokal, at 32, the veteran of the Slovenian team went from 5th to 2nd place — her best result in a slalom since her win back in 1991. Natasa must surely be extremely patient or passionate about ski racing to have waited such a long time.

Some of the other athletes became sort of M.I.A. Anna Ottosson lost her smile when she finished 27th — dead last after being 9th. Her teammate Ylva Nowen, a double winner here not so long ago in December 1997, had to be content with a far 16th place after being 8th. Urska Hrovat, 7th after the first run, didn't understand the world anymore when she moved down to 13th place. Zali Steggall, the reigning World Champion, tied afterwards for 16th place with Nowen. So far, the Australian Steggall has failed to finish on the podium since her success at Vail.

Chistel Saioni skied with her brain and reached a good 4th place after a very controlled second run. Trine Bakke tried to be more aggressive but it didn't prevent her from sliding back to 6th place. And Anja Paerson could only shout her frustration and hit the snow with her poles after her crash in the lower part of the course — but she was already behind Sabine Egger at that point!

This will remain a race with numerous untold stories — and incredible comebacks. If Koellerer had been 22/100 of a second faster, she would have been the winner after being the last to qualify! Yet she was pleased with 2nd, since she has not reached the podium since finishing 2nd in a slalom in Are back in 1993. The Austrian is only 29, still three years younger than Slovenia's Bokal.

Egger was beaming after the race. "I can't believe it, I don't know what to say," she said. "I was disappointed by my first run and was aiming for more, but I didn't think about finishing on the podium or winning my second World Cup slalom."

"I'm pleased for my fans, too. They were great. It's funny to be the last winner of the century — but it will also be nice to become the first one in the next century," she added.

In Copper Mountain, Egger raced on the short skis normally used by her serviceman because her company had not built a short racing model for her in the summer. The company has worked hard in the meantime and produced a new model, apparently pretty efficient too.

It may help Kristina Koznick in the coming races. The American, on the podium here in 1997 for the first time in her career, was a far 21st after two average runs. Egger's success could inspire her in future. The next technical events are scheduled for next week in Maribor, Slovenia. Happy New Year!

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent