Women's Downhill
Italy's Isolde Kostner finally got out of her slump and returned to the top of the podium after today's victory in her home country, winning the sixth downhill of the season under blue skies in Santa Caterina, near Bormio, the site of the upcoming World Cup Finals.

	Kostner

Bothered by a sore back, Kostner benefited from an unscheduled three-week break in her World Cup calendar, and is now back on top, almost two months after her last victory in St. Moritz. After a very aggressive run down the fast, yet technically easy "Cevedale" course, she celebrated her fourth victory of the season in one of the most disputed races of the season.

"All my victories have come in beautiful weather, blue skies and bright sun. That's why I always ski so well in Italy..." — Isolde Kostner (ITA)

Germany's Regina Haeusl, 2nd twice in downhill this season, was runner-up once again, only 2/100 of a second behind Kostner. Switzerland's Corinne Rey-Bellet came in 3rd at 5/100.

Germany's Martina Ertl, 4th, missed the podium by only 12/100. She finished just ahead of Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister, who retained her lead in the overall World Cup standings when she beat, by 1/100 of a second, her rival for the overall Crystal Globe, teammate Renate Goetschl.

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Régine Cavagnoud, another favorite, placed 8th, just ahead of USA's Kirsten Clark, who achieved her best finish yet on the World Cup tour. Her teammate Alison Power was on her way to crack the top-10 when she fell only a few meters before the finish line. She didn't sustain any injuries, however.

The first 21 racers finished within a second of each other and the top three were divided by just 5/100. This is partly due to the smooth racing conditions on the Cevedale run, used during the 1985 Ski World Championships. The skiers remained mostly in the tuck position while cruising down to the valley, hoping that their equipment was efficient and fast.

The sunshine inspired Kostner, who hates to race in bad weather (like what she faced three weeks ago in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the last downhill took place). The tiny skier from Val Gardena also likes to compete at home, where she has often been successful in recent years. In fact, five of her nine career victories have been at Italian resorts. She was lucky that the downhill, super G, slalom and combined events originally planned as test events for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games had to be moved here due to a lack of snow in the Rocky Mountains.

"When I got up, I was quite pleased and confident when I saw that the weather was fine and that I was free of the pain in my back," said 24-year-old Kostner, who started the season with back-to-back downhill wins in Lake Louise and St. Moritz. "It's nicer for me to compete here than in the US.

"All my victories have come in beautiful weather, blue skies and bright sun. That's why I always ski so well in Italy, because the weather is mostly so nice here.

	Haeusl

"I was lucky the last races were cancelled, it gave me more time to recover," she added. "I had a lot of energy in me today. I didn't ski too well in the upper part of the course, so I had to fight harder at the end. I hit the middle part perfectly and I took a lot of speed with me into the last gliding section, where my skis were really flying."

The super G World Champion in 1996 and 1997 was not able to make the top-10 in the last three speed events in Altenmarkt and Cortina d'Ampezzo. She used the long break to regain her momentum and erase the stress she had been feeling since the races at Altenmarkt.

"I had been in a slump over the last weeks and I wanted to prove I could win again here in Italy."

Despite failing to reach the podium in what was until this year her favorite event, Michaela Dorfmeister improved her lead in the overall standings. Her 802 points moved her 60 points clear of Goetschl, the 1999 downhill World Champion, who still continues to look for her first downhill win of the season. Dorfmeister has not reached the downhill podium at all this winter, but she remains confident.

"My form is definitely improving in downhill — I'm always getting closer to the leader in downhill," she said after the race. "I tried to stay relaxed on my skis and it worked out well."

Also pretty smooth on her skis was America's Kirsten Clark who reached her best result in a World Cup race, coming in 9th. She was as happy as she was surprised by this achievement.

"My season goal was a top-10, but I was not expecting it to happen here," she said. "I'm not such a great glider but I fought hard down the course." Her teammate Alison Powers who started in 44th position was less lucky— after clocking one of the fastest intermediate times, she crashed near the finish line and missed the opportunity to crack the top-10, too.

In Friday's super G, Isolde Kostner will again be the skier to beat on the "Cevedale" course. Michaela Dorfmeister and Renate Goetschl, winner in the last super G at Altenmarkt, Régine Cavagnoud, Regina Haeusl and Martina Ertl will once more fight hard to beat the determined Italian who is always motivated when racing at home.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent