Spela Pretnar (SLO)

"It's almost unbelievable to win this race after what happened to me in Vail," she said. "I had a hard time putting myself together after my failure there and I skied here without energy, like an automate. I didn't care about these races. I'm really confused."

"This win is great for my morale..."— Spela Pretnar

The racer from Bled, who has not won a race since Bormio, Italy, in March 1995, only clocked the 9th best time in the first run yet remained out of reach after an impressive second run.

Norway's Trine Bakke, 3rd in Vail 10 days ago, again skied the fastest first leg. She took 2nd this time at 18/100 of a second from the winner. Sweden's new slalom star, Anja Paerson, was 3rd at 25/100. Behind them were Pernilla Wiberg, the silver medalist at the World Championships, who missed the podium by only 1/100 of a second, preventing her from regaining the lead in the World Cup slalom standings.

	Anja Paerson (SWE)

Claudia Riegler, who also skied a great second run took 5th, just in front of Ylva Nowen, the 1998 slalom World Cup champion and Steggall. The Australian was 3rd after the first run, but achieved her best performance in a World Cup race since finishing 2nd in Mammoth Mountain, California, last December.

Austria's Karin Koellerer went down from 2nd to 8th place while her teammate Sabine Egger, 9th, was able to save her lead in the slalom standings. She has a 10 points lead on Wiberg coming in to the last slalom race in Sierra Nevada in two weeks.

Germany's leaders finished in the back: Martina Ertl was 20th and Hilde Gerg, the reigning Olympic champion, came in last at 28th. This helped Alexandra Meissnitzer to keep a strong lead over them in the Overall World Cup standings.

American Kristina Koznick, the winner here last winter, skied out in the second run after setting the sixth best time in the first run.

Her team's leading skier in the mid '90s, Pretnar didn't expect to celebrate such a comeback after her dramatic elimination in the second slalom run at Vail. Taking all risks in her second run here, she was able to take advantage of the good course conditions and posted an outstanding time which surprised even herself.

"I like such flat courses, even if I've improved a lot on the steeper slopes. Last year, too, I had a strong race here before straddling a gate in the middle of the second run. This win is great for my morale," Pretnar said.

	Trina Bakke (NOR)

Also very pleased were Trine Bakke, the winner in St Anton, who conquered her third consecutive spot on a podium, and Anja Paerson, who has failed to finish a slalom over the past weeks.

"It's great to reach such a place in front of my friends and my parents," the 17-year-old Swede, nicknamed "My Baby" by winner Pretnar, said. "We are good friends and I'm happy to see her winning a race finally," said Anja. "She is so funny and we have a great time together. I though I was a good glider on flats, but she is pretty good too."

With three skiers among the top-10, the Swedish group achieved a strong team performance in front of a great crowd who enjoyed the night slalom despite the cold. On Wednesday, another night race, a second giant slalom, will take place on the same slope - another opportunity for Alexandra Meissnitzer and Anita Wachter to express their talent. — Mountain Zone European Ski Correspondent