The American overall champion, who had already won the downhill title, timed 1 minute, 46.56 seconds on the Streicher course to beat Marion Rolland of France by 0.92 seconds. Tina Maze of Slovenia was third.
Vonn won her 12th race this season. Only Vreni Schneider of Switzerland won more races in one year — 14 in 1988-89.
US Ski Team star Lindsey Vonn is on track to become the first woman to surpass 2,000 points in a World Cup season.
(AP)
“This definitely is my best season ever. It went well in all disciplines,” Vonn said. “Twelve wins in one season, I can’t believe it’s true.”
Vonn earned her 17th podium finish this season, which leaves her one short of the record shared by Liechtenstein’s Hanni Wenzel in 1980 and Sweden’s Pernilla Wiberg in 1997.
With a super-G and a GS race left, Vonn is also within reach of the 2,000-point record for one single season held by Austria’s Hermann Maier.
“That’s going to be another fight,” said Vonn, who has 1,908 points. “I will try to get to these 2,000 points. It won’t be easy on this (soft) snow. Hermann was a genius when he achieved it back in 2000.”
Vonn put in a trademark downhill performance and charged throughout the race. Her advantage over then leader Rolland grew at every intermediate time.
American Julia Mancuso, who was second in the training run Tuesday, was fast again at the upper part but lost pace near the finish to take sixth. Alice McKennis was the third American in the top seven.
The race occurred in sunny conditions after mild temperatures and rain over the last couple of days had softened the snow on the course, which will be used for next year’s world championships.
World champion Elisabeth Goergl started fast and led Rolland at the first section but lost time as she skied off course and finished 1.92 off the lead in eighth.
Last year’s overall champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch never looked comfortable during her run and struggled to keep the race line. The German was 2.55 back in 13th.
Earlier in the day, Austrian veteran Klaus Kroell won the World Cup downhill title after holding on to his lead over Swiss rivals Beat Feuz and Didier Cuche in the final event of the season.
Kroell finished the race seventh and edged Feuz by seven points after the Swiss finished second in the race behind winner Aksel Lund Svindal. Cuche, who will retire after the season, placed 17th and failed to score points.
“This is definitely the biggest achievement of my career,” Kroell said. “It’s fantastic to get this result here with so many fans supporting me.”
Svindal, a former overall champion from Norway, finished the 1.8-mile Planai course in 1 minute, 46.82 seconds. Feuz was 0.57 behind, and Hannes Reichelt of Austria was third, 0.67 behind.
Kroell, who led the downhill standings for the first time in his 14-year World Cup career, started the race 48 points clear of Cuche and 51 ahead of Feuz.
Last season, Cuche overtook leader Michael Walchhofer of Austria in the final race but never came close to repeating that feat.
The Swiss standout made a couple of untypical mistakes early in his run and almost skied out shortly afterward. He lost balance and avoided falling by pushing up with both hands on the snow before finishing 2.55 seconds behind Svindal.
“That surely was not the farewell I hoped for,” said Cuche, who missed out on his final chance to match Austrian great Franz Klammer’s record of five career downhill titles.
“I didn’t start well and after that, it was hard to get going,” Cuche said. “Congratulations to Klaus, he is a deserved winner.”
Kroell said he was not aware of Cuche’s result when he went down the course. Kroell struggled with the soft snow during Tuesday’s training run and seemed to lack speed in some sections during the race as well.
“I first thought I had blown it all,” Kroell said. “I had the sixth time at that moment and that would not have been enough if Cuche had got a good result.”
Feuz started immediately after Kroell and needed a win to overtake the Austrian in the standings.
However, Feuz was behind Svindal’s leading time throughout and trailed the Norwegian by more than half a second. Feuz celebrated the result as if he had won the race.
