Vonn Ninth in Super-G
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) returned to the FIS Ski World Cup circuit following a three-week break and cracked the top 10 on a rough super-G track in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria.
Italy’s Federica Brignone took the victory Saturday, as Lara Gut of Switzerland was second, followed by Austria’s Cornelia Huetter in third.
“This course, you really have to be pushing the line, and ski more like Lara Gut skied,” Vonn said. “Going straighter, maybe feathering a little bit more. I think did well on the top with that - I went a pretty direct line. But on the bottom, I think I was round and feathering, so probably not the fastest way.”
Vonn, who has been nursing a sore knee suffered in a crash at Lake Louise last month, started second on Saturday and was pleased with the course conditions after a week of challenging weather in which officials switched the race program, running super-G on Saturday and downhill on Sunday.
“As soon as I saw the course this morning in inspection, I knew I was going to run,” Vonn said. “In the downhill training runs, the snow was sugary, there was no surface, and for me, that’s a dangerous situation because then I don’t have any stability on my knee. If it’s bumpy, it’s not a problem, so long as the surface is holding and solid, it’s fine.”
Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) was 26th; Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) 29th; Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 31st; Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) 33rd; and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) 34th.
Up next, the ladies plan to ski the downhill training run prior to the downhill race in Bad Kleinkirchheim Sunday.
RESULTS
Women’s super-G
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Saturday, Jan. 13
10:00 p.m. – Women’s Super-G; Bad Kleinkirchheim – NBCSN (same day coverage)
11:00 p.m. – Men’s downhill; Wengen – NBCSN (same day coverage)
Sunday, Jan. 14
4:15 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Wengen –olympicchannel.com
5:00 a.m. – Women’s downhill; Bad Kleinkirchheim – Olympic Channel TV
6:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Wengen – Olympic Channel TV
