Vonn gains on Riesch in race for overall title

Published 5:52 pm Saturday, March 12, 2011

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic — Lindsey Vonn is getting closer, and gearing up for something completely different.

She closed the gap on overall World Cup leader Maria Riesch on Saturday by tying for 16th in a slalom while her German friend and rival failed to finish. Vonn cut 15 poin

ts from Riesch’s overall lead and trails by 23 in her bid for a fourth straight overall title.

“This is a new challenge I never really faced before, to be down in the World Cup,” Vonn said. “Bring it on. I’m pushing myself harder than I ever have.”

Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth slalom this season to clinch the discipline title, logging the fastest runs in both legs to finish in 1 minute, 43.85 seconds. Kathrin Zettel was 0.93 behind and Tina Maze of Slovenia was third.

The pressure grows with only four events left — downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom at the World Cup finals next week in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

“It’s going to be really exciting finals,” Vonn said. “It’s going to push me to a new level of skiing I never seen before myself. This is going to be on the same level as the Olympics as far as the pressure goes.”

Riesch was 15th after the first run in which she had problems on the lower part of the course. She skied out just seconds into the second leg.

“This was a really, really bad and disappointing weekend for me,” Riesch said. “I’ll try to forget about that as soon as I can.”

Vonn said she didn’t know Riesch was out before she started the second run.

“I just had to keep charging as if she was winning,” Vonn said. “It still wasn’t my best slalom run, but it’s the first slalom race I actually finished in a long time.”

Vonn, a speed specialist, has struggled in slalom, finishing only the November races in Levi, Finland, and Aspen, Colo. She was in 12th place after the first run and had the 20th fastest time in the second. She remains 20th in the slalom standings.

“I didn’t ski well in my second run,” the American said. “I know it was little bit too turny for me on the top. I just never really got into a good rhythm.”

On Friday, Vonn finished third in the giant slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn for her first top-three finish in the discipline to narrow Riesch’s lead from 96 to 38 points. Riesch almost skied off in the second round and placed 29th.

The finals begin Wednesday, and Riesch is not overly worried.

“I’m still in the lead overall and we have four races to go,” she said. “I’ll try my really best next week and the world will not stop turning if I lose the big globe.”

Riesch acknowledged that Vonn is finding her rhythm in the technical disciplines just in time.

“She did a great GS, and she had a solid slalom performance today,” the German said. “She’s coming back in tech events, but I still can beat her.”

Schild holds an insurmountable 111-point lead over second-place Tanja Poutiainen of Finland in the slalom standings with one race left in the discipline. Schild won her third slalom title after capturing six of eight slaloms this season.

“I didn’t expect to win it before the finals,” she said. “The last races will be really cool.”