"You need strong nerves to remain focused during the entire day..."— Renate Goetschl (AUT)

The 23-year-old skier from south of Salzburg ,only 4th after the first run, fought back with the fastest time in the second run to beat her teammate Michaela Dorfmeister, who led after the first run, by only 7/100 of a second.

Germany's Regina Haeusl was third, followed by compatriot Hilde Gerg who missed a strong chance to get closer to Goetschl in the downhill World Cup standings.

After this race, Renate Goetschl has the best chance to regain the downhill World Cup title which she already clinched back in 1997. Goetschl is only the second Austrian to achieve this performance after the legendary Annemarie Moser-Proell.

"I was really not so pleased after the first run and thought Michaela was going to win," Goetschl said after the race." I didn't feel so sure because there were many skiers within a few hundredths of a second. I took more risks in the second run and it turned out fine for me."

"You need strong nerves to remain focused during the entire day," Goetschl continued. "The waiting in the first run was tough—there were lots of delays because of the crashes."

Goetschl's win, her third downhill victory on the World Cup tour this season, helped increase her lead over Gerg to 101 points with two speed races left on the World Cup tour.

France's Melanie Suchet, 2nd in the first leg, ended up in 5th place while the overall World Cup leader, Alexandra Meissnitzer, finished in a distant 13th.

Due to Meissnitzer's less than desired finish, Gerg gained some ground in the overall World Cup standings, but still she would have to win almost all the remaining six races to have a serious chance to pass Meissnitzer at the Finals in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

She was not surprised by her modest performance. The course was not challenging enough for her.

"It wasn't a course for me, especially with the soft snow. Still, I needed a result and some points so I am happy to get through," Meissnitzer said.

Dorfmeister, who was second to Goetschl at the Vail World Championships, has also a strong chance to finish among the top-3 in the final downhill standings. She was close to celebrating her first win in a downhill since her first success back in 1995.

"I made a mistake in the first turn of the second run and that made the difference," she said. "On such a short run you can't do this when you are skiing against Goetschl. I knew that she was leading and I gave my best to defend my lead. But it's still nice to get on the podium. I still have two chances left—I'm still very motivated".

Other favorites also had problems on the "Olympia" course which was covered with fresh snow. Switzerland's Corinne Rey-Bellet only became 14th while Italy's Isolde Kostner crashed in the second run.

This race was marked during the first run by two huge crashes that landed their victims in hospital. Austria's Stefanie Schuster, the bronze medal winner in Vail, broke her right ankle when she landed in the net at mid course. She'll be stuck in a cast for six weeks. Italy's Daniela Ceccarelli also suffered a heavy crash after losing her balance in mid-air after a jump, landing on her side. X-rays revealed a mild compression of two vertebrae.

The next women's competitions, a donwhill and a super-G,will take place next week in St Moritz, Switzerland, where the World Championships will take place in 2003.

— Mountain Zone European Ski Correspondent