ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - France's Tessa Worley overcame driving snow and poor visibility Saturday to win a giant slalom at the Aspen Winternational for her first World Cup victory.
Worley, whose previous best was fifth place, was followed by Tanja Poutiainen of Finland and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria.
Lindsey Vonn of the United States was fourth, turning in a strong effort after her slalom victory in Finland despite banging her knee in training two weeks ago.
"This isn't so bad, a fourth place and my personal best in giant slalom," Vonn said. "And after skiing one day of giant slalom in one month and having an injury that could have put me out for the entire season, I'm happy and happy I made it down. It was rough conditions. You had to fight all the way down. It wasn't a perfect run by any means, but I kept fighting and that's what counts."
Julia Mancuso of the United States also had a solid showing, finishing seventh with a combined time of 2:14.05.
"I made the top 10, so I'm psyched," Mancuso said. "I needed a little bit of confidence and this race gave it to me."
Worley completed the second run over the 45-gate course in 1:08:99, finishing with a combined time of 2:12.86. Poutiainen was next in 2:13.14, with Goergl at 2:13.57 and Vonn at 2:13.73.
Denise Karbon of Italy had the lead after the first run but fell during the next run. She was able to get up and finish, but she came in 15th.
The conditions took a toll all day. Seventeen of the 61 competitors did not finish the initial run, including Maria Jose Rienda of Spain and Chiara Costazza of Italy. They were taken off the course on a toboggan for medical evaluation, and there was no official word on their injuries.
Rienda went down about halfway through the course when her left knee appeared to buckle. Costazza took a spill when she caught a ski on one of the early gates.
Anne-Sophie Barthet of France did not start.
The Aspen Winternational concludes Sunday with a slalom. |