Paerson laps field to win World Cup GS; Schleper tops for U.S. in fifth

Paerson laps field to win World Cup GS; Schleper tops for U.S. in fifthSweden’s Anja Paerson won by a whopping margin of nearly two seconds in the women’s World Cup giant slalom Saturday at Region Arber, Germany, wrapping up the giant slalom title for the season.

Slovenia’s Tina Maze, 1.98 seconds back, was the runner-up, followed by Paerson’s biggest rival in the overall race, Renate Goetschl of Austria (2.05 behind).

The U.S. Ski Team’s Sarah Schleper had the fifth-fastest second run and wound up fifth overall, her best giant slalom finish this season.

Schleper’s only better World Cup finish in GS was a third place at Semmering, Austria, in December 2000.

Teammate Caroline Lalive had appeared ready for her first podium finish in a technical event, finishing third in the first run. But she blew out of the course just a few gates from the finish.

Jessica Kelley made it to the second run, and wound up 27th, scoring her first World Cup points in just her sixth start. Julia Mancuso was the only other American to qualify for the second run, and was a DNF. Kristina Koznick crashed in the first run, and Lindsey Kildow, Resi Stiegler and Libby Ludlow failed to qualify for the second.

Britt Janyk in 12th led the way for the Canadians. Gail Kelly was 23rd and Allison Forsyth 25th.

The win guaranteed Paerson the World Cup giant slalom title. With just two GS races left on the schedule, the only skier with a mathematical chance to catch Paerson is Austria’s Nicole Hosp, who has been knocked out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle.

Paerson’s victory gave her a slim lead over Goetschl, 1120-1108, in the overall World Cup standings. Paerson also has a healthy lead in the slalom standings, while Goetschl, stronger in speed events, leads the downhill race and is second in super G.

Alpine World Cup

Women’s Giant Slalom

Region Arber, Germany

February 7, 2004

1. Anja Paerson (Sweden) 2:17.80 (first run 1:008.57/second run 1:09.23)

2. Tina Maze (Slovenia) 2:19.78 (1:10.60/1:09.18)

3. Renate Goetschl (Austria) 2:19.85 (1:09.18/1:10.67)

4. Michaela Dorfmeister (Austria) 2:19.89 (1:09.78/1:10.11)

5. Sarah Schleper (U.S.) 2:19.99 (1:09.81/1:10.18)

6. Tanja Poutiainen (Finland) 2:20.02 (1:09.80/1:10.22)

7. Elisabeth Goergl (Austria) 2:20.14 (1:09.67/1:10.47)

8. Sonja Nef (Switzerland) 2:20.26 (1:09.43/1:10.83)

9. Alexandra Meissnitzer (Austria) 2:20.51 (1:09.77/1:10.74)

10= Silvia Berger (Austria) 2:20.69 (1:10.41/1:10.28)

10= Andrine Flemmen (Norway) 2:20.69 (1:10.49/1:10.20)

12= Britt Janyk (Canada) 2:20.79 (1:09.75/1:11.04)

12= Anna Ottosson (Sweden) 2:20.79 (1:10.02/1:10.77)

14. Denise Karbon (Italy) 2:20.85 (1:10.52/1:10.33)

15. Maria Riesch (Germany) 2:20.96 (1:10.72/1:10.24)

16. Nicole Gius (Italy) 2:21.03 (1:10.51/1:10.52)

17. Brigitte Obermoser (Austria) 2:21.08 (1:10.11/1:10.97)

18= Nadia Styger (Switzerland) 2:21.10 (1:11.33/1:09.77)

18= Silke Bachmann (Italy) 2:21.10 (1:10.74/1:10.36)

18= Maria Jose Rienda Contreras (Spain) 2:21.10(1:10.51/1:10.59)

21. Emmanuelle Colomban (France) 2:21.34 (1:10.48/1:10.86)

22. Manuela Moelgg (Italy) 2:21.50 (1:10.48/1:11.02)

23. Gail Kelly (Canada) 2:21.65 (1:10.42/1:11.23)

24. Maddalena Planatscher (Italy) 2:21.68 (1:11.14/1:10.54)

25. Allison Forsyth (Canada) 2:21.88 (1:10.68/1:11.20)

26. Susanne Ekman (Sweden) 2:22.39 (1:11.44/1:10.95)

27. Jessica Kelley (U.S.) 2:23.09 (1:11.31/1:11.78)

DNF 2nd: Julia Mancuso (U.S.), Caroline Lalive (U.S.)

DSQ 2nd: Karina Birkelund (Norway)

Other North Americans:

DNQ 2nd: Genevieve Simard (Canada); Lindsey Kildow, Libby Ludlow, Resi Stiegler (U.S.)

DNF 1st: Kristina Koznick (U.S)

THE SCOOP

> by Hank McKee

Equipment, Women’s Giant Slalom

Region Arber, Germany, February 7, 2004

Skier, skis/boots/bindings

1 Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

2 Maze, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

3 Goetschl, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

4 Dorfmeister, Blizzard/Nordica/Marker

5 Schleper, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

6 Poutiainen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

7 Goergl, Volkl/Lange/Marker

8 Nef, Volkl/Lange/Marker

9 Meissnitzer, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker

10 Berger, Fischer/Tecnica/Tyrolia

10 Flemmen, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

It’s the 26th of 36 races on the women’s World Cup schedule, and the sixth of eight scheduled GS’s. … It’s the 15th win of the season for Salomon skis. … It’s an incredible margin of victory as Anja Paerson wins by nearly two seconds (1.98). … It’s the 19th career victory for Paerson, and the sixth in GS. … It’s her eighth win of the season, third in GS. … No other skier, male or female, has more than five wins this season.

It’s the third career podium for Tina Maze, the first since 10/4/2002. … All of her top results have come in GS. … It’s the best result of the season for Slovenia. … It’s the 78th career podium for Renate Goetschl and her 12th of the season. … Her fourth career GS podium and her second of the season.

It’s the best result of the season for Sarah Schleper. … Fifth matches her fourth best career result. … It’s her second best GS result ever. … It’s the first World Cup scoring finish for Jessica Kelley.

It’s the sixth best result of Britt Janyk’s career and easily her best of the season, out of three scoring finishes. … It’s the second scoring finish of Gail Kelly’s career, the other being a 30th in SG 11/29/98. … It’s the fifth scoring result of the season for Allison Forsyth, all in GS.

Paerson regains the World Cup overall lead 1120-1108 over Goetschl. … Paerson leads the GS standings 430-260 over Nicole Hosp. … With just two GS’s remaining, Paerson clinches the GS title, since Hosp — out for the season with a broken ankle — is the only skier who mathematically has a chance to catch her.

Austria leads the Nations Cup 12751-3776 over the Swiss. … The U.S. is fourth behind Italy at 3554. … The Austrians also lead the women’s standings 5060-2821 over Germany. … The U.S. women are fourth behind France at 1799. … The women have 10 races and one combined remaining to score.