ASPEN, Colo. — Her workday done after one poor run, Lindsey Vonn was walking away from the closest thing to a hometown slope on the World Cup circuit when a fan in a passing car yelled some encouragement.
Vonn smiled, waved and noted that she’d be heading out later for some practice, hoping to fare better in today’s slalom than she did in Saturday’s giant slalom.
“That was definitely not what I’ve been skiing like,” said Vonn, the two-time defending overall champion from Vail, Colo. “So it’s just a little bit disappointing.”
On a rough day for Americans, Vonn blamed a rock for her troubles, saying her right ski clipped a stone in the top part of the run. Unsettled, she wound up 39th; only the top 30 women advanced to the second run, where Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany earned her first career World Cup victory.
At least Vonn managed to chuckle about the sort of result that does not fit with the outsized expectations she’ll be carrying to the Vancouver Olympics in February.
“I was just trying to make it down, and I was, like, laughing at myself,” Vonn said, “because I knew how big of a tool I looked like.”
Her U.S. teammate, reigning Olympic GS champion Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., did get to make two runs but wound up 13th overall behind Hoelzl, the 2008 world champion in giant slalom.
On this day, the German dealt with an icy, bumpy course better than anyone.
“Today, it was pretty icy — I think too icy for many of the girls,” Hoelzl said. “But my (equipment) is perfect on ice.”
Her first run was nearly a half-second faster than anyone else’s — more than 4½ seconds better than Vonn’s — and she used that advantage to hold off runner-up Kathrin Zettel of Austria in the second run.
Federica Brignone of Italy was third, the initial podium finish for the 19-year-old daughter of Maria Rosa Quario, who won four World Cup slaloms from 1979-83.
Swiss Cuche wins downhill
Didier Cuche of Switzerland won the season-opening World Cup downhill Saturday in Lake Louise, Alberta.
Cuche, third in last season’s overall standings, earned his 11th World Cup victory.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I’ve had a really hard time in Lake Louise to be fast.”
He won by nearly a half-second and was timed in 1 minute, 50.31 seconds. He was followed by Italy’s Werner Heel in 1:50.75 and Switzerland’s Carlo Janka in 1:50.93.
Bode Miller, back with the U.S. Ski Team this season, finished 29th.
The race was delayed about a half-hour after a spill by American skier TJ Lanning. He fell headfirst into the snow and crashed into the fence. He was sitting up and moving when officials arrived.
The U.S. Ski Team later said Lanning had a left knee injury and was flown to a hospital for tests.
“What happened to TJ is a bummer. He’s one of my really good buddies, so it definitely put a shadow over everything,” said Andrew Weibrecht of Lake Placid, N.Y., who was the top American in 12th place.
The season-opening super-G is today.
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