Anja Paerson ready for Maribor

MARIBOR, Slovenia, Jan 23 – Sweden’s Anja Paerson is out to win her fifth race in a row at this Slovenian resort this weekend – a feat that could also allow her to recapture the lead in the overall World Cup standings from speed specialist Renate Goetschl

The women’s World Cup tour resumes on Saturday on the Pohorje mountain with a giant slalom followed by a slalom on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Swede relinquished her lead in the standings to Austrian Goetschl last week in Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo after the speed specialist reached the podium three times there.

Paerson, the reigning giant slalom World Champion enjoys competing on the Slovenian course which often brought her luck in recent seasons. Last winter, the 22-year-old athlete from Taernaby became the first racer to win the giant slalom and the slalom during the same weekend. Two years ago, she won two slaloms back-to-back yet she lost the slalom World Cup title at the end of the season to France’s Laure Pequegnot at the end because of her inconsistency.

“Maribor has been good to me in the past and I hope it will stay like this” said the Swede who was training with the rest of the Swedish team in Italy’s Dobbiacco. “I like the course there because I can ski very aggressively,” she added. “My tactics remain the same as in past races – I aim to win as often as possible without being too concerned about scoring points. The competition is getting tougher because of the impressive consistency of Hilde Gerg. She finished all her speed races among the top-five, this is amazing.”

The German veteran, who achieved a strong comeback this season after injuring her knee in November 2002, has the potential to score points in giant slalom in Maribor where she has excelled in past winters.
She won a super-G there in 1999. Yet her main goal is to win the downhill World Cup title.
An Olympic gold medal winner in slalom in 1999, Gerg also twice clinched the super-G World Cup standings in 1997 and 2002. She won her first race 10 years ago in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

“I’m having much fun in the speed events this winter and I don’t spend a moment thinking about the overall title,” she said in Cortina d’Ampezzo. “There are many races left and I can’t hope to score as many points in the technical events as Renate Goetschl.”

Renate Goetschl, a surprising 2nd in a giant slalom in Megêve earlier this month, is able to reach another podium on the smooth slope set outside of Maribor. Yet even if the Austrian veteran loses her lead in Slovenia, she should recover is easily next week in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, where two downhills and a super-G are planned. Paerson who planned to take a break after Maribor’s events, changed her mind and will also compete in those three Austrian speed events.

Two Austrian skiers can also help Goetschl to lose a minimum of points on Anja Paerson in Maribor. Nicole Hosp, the toughest rival of the Swede in the technical races this winter, and Marlies Schild, who 2nd in a slalom in Megêve, can seriously challenge the Scandinavian this weekend.

Italy Denise Karbon, the winner in Alta Badia, Germany’s Hilde Gerg, who captured the first giant slalom in Soelden, Austria’s promising Elisabeth Goergl, France’s Laure Pequegnot or USA’s Kristina Koznick are also aiming for victories in one of the two Slovenian competitions.

ML