Another great win for Anja Paerson

Sweden’s Anja Paerson won her second consecutive slalom this season in Madonna di Campiglio after a very aggressive second run in which she clearly dominated all her rivals after a slower first run. The 22-year-old giant slalom World Cup beat by 81/100 of a second France’s Laure Pequegnot, the fastest in the first run, while Austria’s Nicole Hosp reached her third podium this season in coming in 3rd with a delay of 1,10 second.

Another French, Christel Pascal, who missed the podium by 9/100, finished ahead of USA’s Kristine Koznick, an encouraging 5th after clocking the third best time in the final run.

Germany’s Martina Ertl, one of the few skiers who could prevent Paerson to clinch the overall World Cup title, was a far 9th. Her delay on the Scandinavian in the overall standings moved up to 190 points now. The Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister and Renate Goetschl, two of the best speed specialists on the women’s tour along France Carole Montillet, 2nd in the standings for the moment, didn’t start in this slalom.
They will try to decrease their gap next weekend in Switzerland’s St Moritz where the next downhill and Super-G will take place.

A great Swedish tradition

Anja Paerson was particularly pleased and proud to have won this competition hold on the legendary “Canalone Miramonti” slope on which her famous friend Ingemar Stenmark celebrated his very first triumph in December 1974! The triple World Cup champion collected an impressive total of eight races here while two of his teammates, Stig Strand and Jonas Nilson won a slalom each.

“This course is famous in Sweden, especially in Taernaby” she said after the race with a smile. “I was thinking of him this morning and I wanted hard to win this prestigious race. The slope is really tough but it was very exciting for us to compete here. In the first run, I was pretty tense and I didn’t ski well at all. I was upset with me and I took more risks in the afternoon. To have been so slow in the first leg motivated me a lot for the second one. I was much more focused and aggressive. It’s a great victory but I feel tired now. That’s why I could not celebrate this win with my usual body-slide in the finish area”.

A good day for Janica Kostelic and Bode Miller

Two great champions fore-run this competition – Croatia’s Janica Kostelic and USA’s Bode Miller. Both were very pleased by their runs. “It’s wonderful to be back on the women’s tour and breath the same air than the other skiers” said Janica who didn’t enter a race so far this season because of her health problems. She suffers since last summer from a dysfunction of her thyroidal gland which forced her to rest in the past two months.
“I skied smoothly because I didn’t want to ski out. It’s such a nice hill and I’m sorry not to be a normal racer today! It would have been quite interesting to attack it with full power!”
“Unfortunately, I’m still far away from my best form and I don’t believe to be able to compete this year. Maybe next month in Maribor!”

Bode on his side enjoyed to finally come through a first run this season. “The run was very tight but I like it” he said. “It was a good training run for me and I enjoyed it a lot. I believe I can find back my form in slalom some day – but I have to train hard and to be patient”. Miller moved on the Val Gardena where the next speed events – a Super-G in Friday and a downhill on Saturday will be held.

In Wednesday’s second women slalom, the French Laure Pequegnot and Christel Pascal strongly hope to seriously challenge Paerson. “We got closer to her today, but you need to achieve two great runs to have a good chance to beat her” said Laure, who has not won a race since her last success in Are in February 2002.
“I skied better here than last month in park City where I was 4th but I can still improve a lot. I’m not focused enough when I ski down the course. I hear the speaker and I see my trainers along the slope – this should not happen, I should be more concentrated”.

Patrick Lang