WENGEN, Switzerland, 17 January 2005 — German outsider Alois Vogl grabbed a surprise maiden World Cup victory yesterday, winning a dramatic slalom race on the Lauberhorn mountain.
The 32-year-old German’s combined time of one minute 35.38 seconds appeared to have put him in second place behind Italy’s Giorgio Rocca until television replays showed the Italian straddling a gate - earning Rocca immediate disqualification.
Vogl discovered he had won only when he was told the news by his friend Ivica Kostelic of Croatia.
Kostelic, the 25-year-old brother of triple Olympic champion Janica Kostelic, was himself able to celebrate second place, 0.21 seconds behind Vogl. After setting the second quickest time in Sunday’s first run, Austrian Benjamin Raich dropped down to third place, 0.46 seconds behind Vogl, after nearly skiing out on two occasions.
The demanding, icy course took its toll on many of the day’s favorites.
Leading after the first run, Canada’s Thomas Grandi was the biggest casualty.
Bidding to become the first Canadian man to win a World Cup slalom, the veteran skier missed a gate and had to climb back up the hill before resuming his race.
The time lost was enough to drop Grandi down into 23rd place.
Finland’s Kalle Palander, third in the first run, crashed out while American World Cup overall leader Bode Miller also failed to finish.
Austrian Rainer Schoenfelder, the slalom World Cup champion last season, and his team mate Mario Matt, world champion in 2001, both failed to finish the first leg.
Dorfmeister Ends Goetschl’s Winning Run
Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, Michaela Dorfmeister ended Austrian teammate Renate Goetschl’s World Cup winning streak with a downhill victory yesterday.
Goetschl had won three times in three races in Cortina this week but she was pushed into second place yesterday, finishing 0.59 seconds behind the 31-year-old Dorfmeister’s time of one minute 36.62 seconds. German Hilde Gerg was third with 1:37.40, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Croatian Janica Kostelic. Defending overall World Cup champion Anja Paerson of Sweden celebrated a career-best finish in downhill with fifth.
Goetschl’s second place, after her victory in Saturday’s first downhill and the two super-G races here, was enough to take her into the lead in the overall World Cup standings.
Dorfmeister, one of the most successful and experienced performers in the speed disciplines, had never won at Cortina before, having so often being overshadowed by Goetschl who has a record eight victories in downhill and super-G on the Olympia course.
There was disappointment for American Lindsey Kildow who was third in Saturday’s downhill but finished down in 18th place after a big mistake in the upper section cost her more than a second. The fourth and fifth place finishes from all-rounders Kostelic and Paerson indicate they are hitting form in time for the world championships in Bormio and Santa Caterina at the end of the month.
“Both myself and Janica can step it up for the world championships and we both look in good shape,” said Paerson who will be looking to get back in the overall race with the technical events next weekend at Maribor in Slovenia, where she already has six career wins.
Before that, Kostelic will hope to impress her home crowd when Zagreb makes its debut on the World Cup circuit with a night slalom on Thursday
Meantime, Adam Malysz of Poland became only the second ski jumper to win more than one World Cup event this season, dominating a ski flying competition on the Kulm hill in Bad Mittterndorf, Austria yesterday.
Malysz won with jumps of 207 and 209.5 meters, good for 412.3 points. Austria’s Andreas Widhoelzl, who beat Malysz to take Saturday’s event, finished second with 400.5 points.
Risto Jussilainen of Finland was third with 396.9 points, his first podium finish in four years.
“I am really happy. Yesterday my first jump was not that great and cost me the win. However, today, everything worked out perfectly,” said Malysz, whose other victory this season came in December in Harrachov, Czech Republic.
“I have been in great form all season, but never really managed to realize it in the competitions. In training everything worked, but in the events there was always something I struggled with,” Malysz said.
Finland’s Janne Ahonen, who has won 11 of 15 events this season, skipped the event with the flu but comfortably held on to his overall World Cup lead with 1,260 points.
Austria’s Martin Hoellwarth is second with 756, ahead of Czech Jakub Janda, who has 746 points. Three-time World Cup winner Malysz has moved up to fifth with 678 points.
