GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, 3 February 2004 — Hermann Maier set the stage for a thrilling end to the Alpine ski season when he captured the lead in the overall World Cup standings with victory in a super-G on Sunday.
The great Austrian, in his first season since nearly losing a leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001, also made sure of winning the super-G title for the fifth time in his turbulent career.
Fittingly, it all happened in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the resort where the former bricklayer, now 31, burst into the spotlight with his first victory in a super-G in 1997.
It was an eventful weekend also for the women, competing in the Austrian resort of Haus Im Ennstal, with the first two victories for German teenager Maria Riesch and an emotional comeback for Isolde Kostner.
Super-G favorite Renate Goetschl lost the chance to pull ahead in the overall standings when she finished a disappointing 16th on Sunday, leaving Swede Anja Paerson a good chance of snatching the title.
Maier’s third win of the season put him into a battle for the men’s overall title with fellow Austrians Benjamin Raich and Stephan Eberharter. Norway’s Lasse Kjus was in second place before the weekend but his World Cup hopes died when knee surgery on Friday ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Raich, four points behind Maier, lost the lead after a spectacular crash in Sunday’s super-G. The 25-year-old skier suffered concussion and will struggle to be fit for next weekend’s races, a giant slalom and a slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland.
Maier’s old rival Eberharter, the defending overall champion and winner of a downhill on Saturday, is in third place, 51 points off the pace.
