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Val d'Isère, France
December 9, 1999
Women's Giant Slalom
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.
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 Michaela Dorfmeister |
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A determined Michaela Dorfmeister
Out of the last three giant slaloms, Dorfmeister accomplished two wins and one 3rd place finish. Not bad for someone who is noted for speed events and was just 1/100 of a second behind Picabo Street in the Olympic super G at Nagano, Japan in February 1998. Dorfmeister placed 6th in the 1999 Overall World Cup standings.
The outgoing Austrian finds it difficult to understand and explain her sudden success. "It's not really that I trained more in the giant slalom than in downhill or in Super-G," said the 26-year-old from Neusidel. "Maybe the material is much better this year in giant slalom. I have also a more ambitious attitude."
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| "I thought Regine would be very tough to beat, so I really reached for my limits in the second run and maybe reached my best skiing ever...." — Michaela Dorfmeister (AUT) |
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Dorfmeister set the best time in the second run and kneeled down to kiss the snow when she saw that she won again. "I feel so much emotion, I can't believe what's happening to me. It's more than a dream which came true," she said.
"I thought Regine would be very tough to beat, so I really reached for my limits in the second run and maybe reached my best skiing ever. I have so much pleasure racing in giant slalom that I have no problem taking a maximum of risks. Now I hope to use this momentum to get back at the top in the speed events."
Dorfmeister was only 11th in the Wednesday's super-G.
"I was skiing too nicely there. I was taking the curves too wide, away from the line. It's very easy to lose six or seven tenths of a second there," she said. "But I am getting closer to the podium there than I was in Lake Louise, and I think I can improve my form in this event with some good training."
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 Silvia Berger |
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Silvia Berger was 2nd, improving her finishes from 11th, to 6th, to 2nd over the last three giant slaloms.
"Today was perhaps the first step for the World Championships in St. Anton, Austria in 2001," said Berger, who seemed relaxed after the race. Silvia Berger won the Europa Cup Overall and giant slalom last year and was second in giant slalom and super G at the 1999 Junior World Championships.
She trained with the "A" team last summer, which gave her great momentum. "Finally meeting racers like Alexandra Meissnitzer and Anita Wachter and the excellent atmosphere is inspiring me to at this level," Berger said. "I have set myself great goals in the coming winters and I wil fight to reach them."
Cavagnoud's 3rd place was not bad at all considering she bruised her hip in a fall during practice on Tuesday and was a questionable starter before the super G. "I was stiff and in bad shape for the super G," she explained. "I almost couldn't walk. Fortunately I got excellent treatment for my team physio. When I saw I could ski without too many problems on Wednesday morning, I finally decided to compete."
"I need more experience to better handle the pressure you feel as a leader between runs," Cavagnoud added. "In the second run I was not able to ski as aggressively as in the morning. But I wasn't complaining. I'm having a great season start. I'm pleased to belong to the small group of top favorites for the Overall World Cup victory. It's a strong boost for my moral. My next goal is to get back in form in downhill. I have only trained a little in Lake Louise so I need some time before skiing at my best there."
Fourth was Sonja Nef, like Cavagnoud, a winner of a giant slalom earlier this season in nearby Tignes. Austrian veteran Anita Wachter was 5th, missing the podium by less than a half second. One of the heroes of the second run was Sylvaine Berthod of Switzerland, finishing 6th. Berthod's tremendous second run allowed her to vault from 22nd after the first run.
The top American was Sarah Schleper in 17th, finishing better than 20th for her third straight time. She seems now ready for a top-10 finish in one of the coming technical races. Teammate Caroline Lalive failed to qualify for the second run. Kristina Koznick, who had been improving in the giant slalom, fell early in her first run. She gets a chance for her specialty in the slalom at Sestriere, Italy on Sunday.
On Friday, the men will have their last training run in the downhill before the race on Saturday. Today, Hermann Maier set the best time in a course which had to be shorten because of strong gust of wind in the upper part.
— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent