Megève (France)- Women's Slalom & Super-G (Jan.4th/5th)

Anja Paerson’s hunt for Crystal Cup starts for real.

By Manuèle LANG

After the short New Year break, the women’s World Cup tour resumes this weekend in France’s Megêve, where a super-g race and a slalom are scheduled on Sunday and Monday.

An interesting yet exhausting series of six stops and 14 competitions in France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Germany will take place in the coming six weeks until the next time-off in mid-February. In this period of time, Sweden’s Anja Paerson will try to successfully defend her lead in the overall World Cup standings on her main rivals, Nicole Hosp and Renate Goetschl, both from Austria.

The promising leader of the young Austrian generation – she is only 20 - and the 30-year-old veteran, the overall champion in March 2000, seem to be the only racers able to prevent the reigning giant slalom World Champion to become the successor of Croatia’s Janica Kostelic, sidelined since October by health problems and a new knee-injury. Paerson would be the third Swede after Ingemar Stenmark and Pernilla Wiberg to clinch the big Crystal Globe awarded in March during the Finals in Sestriere.

Hosp, the only skier to beat the 22-year-old Paerson in a slalom this season in Italy’s Madonna di Campiglio, proved last week in Lienz in also winning a giant slalom that she is capable to seriously challenge the Scandinavian in the technical events. She reached the podium in her last six races which helped her to stay in the shadow of Paerson in the overall standings. The two skiers, who are also good friends, are separated by only 110 points after the first six World Cup stops in Europe and North America.

Goetschl, a surprising 2nd in that last giant slalom, was quite consistent in her recent speed events, winning a super-g in Canada’s Lake Louise and a downhill in St Moritz, Switzerland. The very experienced Austrian was also on the podium in a downhill in Canada. Her delay on Paerson – 224 points – is not dramatic considering the program of the top-athletes in the coming six weeks.


Goetschl is very motivated


Nine downhill and super-g races are planned from Megêve to Haus im Ennstal, Austria in this period of time – enough opportunities for the 1999 downhill World Champion to move up in the standings. Only five technical events will be raced in the same time – making it hard for Hosp to stay ahead of Goetschl if her very motivated team-mate keeps her blistering form from December.

In fact, Renate bitterly fights for her first major triumph since March 2000 – in the following medal events she did not capture any gold medal in downhill or in super-g. She was also unsuccessful in her fight for more Crystal Cups in her best specialties. “It has been frustrating for me and I want to close the gap this season” she said after her victory in Lake Louise. Last winter, the missed the downhill cup by only 4 points against Michaela Dorfmeister.

Paerson is aware of the Austrian threat and has decided to change her tactics sooner than she planned. Until this season, the ambitious slalom queen said that she wanted to wait the 2006/2007 season to focus on the overall World Cup title. Olympic gold in Turin in February 2006 was her next priority after having won two gold medals at the 2001 and 2003 FIS World Championships and her first giant slalom World Cup title last season.

No doubt that her amazing season-start not only marked by four wins in slalom and giant slalom, but also by her impressive debuts on a downhill course in St Moritz opened a new horizon in her quest for the highest possible summit in ski racing – the overall World Cup title.


Anja Paerson's plan


“For sure, I’m starting now to think more about the overall title, I can’t ignore it but I don’t want to focus too much on it for the moment” she said at New Year eve. “My goal is still to win as many races as possible and not think about the points. This would be too boring! I ski better when I attack” she added. “That’s my plan until mid-February”.

  “Even if I didn’t score any point in St Moritz, I had a wonderful experience there. I was really surprised - I never expected to feel so relaxed and so confident on a downhill course and to have to much fun! First I was glad at the finish line not to have crashed during the race, but then I was pretty furious to have given away a possible podium. It would have been sensational! The last training run which I won was a true revelation for me. Downhill racing is really great”.

Supported by her father Anders, also the head coach of the Swedish women’s team, Anja plans now to compete in all super-g races and hopefully in most of the downhills as long as she feels comfortable.

“I will take part in the training runs and then I decide if I compete or not” she explains. “I don’t think that the speed events can affect my rhythm in the technical races – on contrary. The excitement I felt in downhill in St Moritz boosted my momentum for the next technical specialties. It’s boring to train always the same. I had so much energy in me that I skied a lot at home during the Christmas break”.

On technically demanding courses, Paerson has the guts and the potential to reach the top-10 – good enough to continue amassing points and to retain a top-position in the overall standings. The last part of the season favours her ambition with a total of five technical races against three speed events.


Anders was amazed


On icy or faster courses as Veysonnaz or Cortina d’Ampezzo where the women’s tour travels after Megeve, the Swede may have a harder time to challenge the top-specialists – yet who really knows her limits ?

Even Anders Paerson was amazed by her potential in St Moritz. “I don’t understand anymore what’s going with her” he said after his daughter clocked the fastest training time. “I’m amazed!”

He was also very emotional after Anja’s new victory in the slalom at Lienz. “I think he was as surprised as I because I was not skiing well that day, but I have never seen him so moved in my entire life” she said.

“Maybe he was particularly happy because it was also his birthday that day!”

Paerson, who wants to win in all events before retiring in 2010, has not entered a Super-G race for a long time. She was 22nd in Innsbruck last February but also 11th in March 2000 at the Bormio Finals.

She did not set herself precise goals in the super-g in Megêve beside achieving a solid run and increasing her experience. “I just hope that the weather and the race conditions will be fair – I don’t like to ski by bad visibility” she said.  “Super-g can be tougher than downhill because you have no training run before the race. So you don’t really know how fast you can actually come down the course”.


Karen Putzer is out

Another top-15 would be very promising on Sunday for the World Cup favourite who is not expected to challenge the specialists as hard as she did in St Moritz. Goetschl, Dorfmeister the reigning World Champion in that specialty, Alexandra Messnitzer, the 1999 World Champion, Germany’s Hilde Gerg, Maria Riesch, 3rd in St Moritz, and Martina Ertl, France’s Carole Montillet, the defending World Cup champion, America’s Kirsten Clark, unexpected 3rd in Lienz in giant slalom, or Canada’s Emily Brydon, are the top-contenders for the podium.

Italy’s Karen Putzer, one of the best super-g skiers in past winters, is still suffering from her right hip and will not start. She may undergo surgery in the coming weeks. She only raced twice in giant slalom so far this winter.


Another duel on Sunday

On Monday, another duel between Nicole Hosp and Anja Paerson is the main attraction of the next slalom. “We are good friends and we both enjoy this great rivalry,” commented Paerson at Lienz . “It motivates us a lot and makes the races very exciting for us and the public.”

“I always wish her good luck before the races and she does the same. She is incredibly solid and relaxed and really hard to beat when skiing at her best”.

The French stars Laure Pequegnot, the 2002 slalom World Cup champion, was 2nd in Madonna di Campiglio and Christel Pascal 4th. Both hopes to find back her best rhythm in front of their home crowd.

Elisabeth Goergl, another talented young Austrian, Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen, certainly inspired by the great results of Kalle Palander, and Switzerland’s Sonja Nef, 2nd in Park City, also aims for a spot on the podium.

ML