Women's Slalom
Slovenia's Spela Pretnar won a crucial slalom today in Italy's Santa Caterina, where she beat France's Christel Saioni by 30/100 of a second. Sweden's Anja Paerson placed 3rd at 47/100 behind.

	Pretnar

After Norway's Trine Bakke, leader in the first run, skied off course, Pretnar also took the lead in the slalom World Cup standings — which she aims to win next month during the finals in Bormio, Italy.

America's Kristina Koznick, who's been struggling this season, rediscovered her winning form today, coming in 4th and missing her first podium of the winter by only 37/100. She now seems ready to win again — maybe next weekend in Åre, Sweden, where she celebrated her very first success in 1998.

American Sarah Schleper finished 18th and Caroline Lalive took 25th, but managed a podium spot in the combined, won by Austrian Renate Goetschl. Goetschl was 20th in the slalom, allowing her to get closer to her teammate Michaela Dorfmeister in the Overall World Cup standings.

Pretnar is by far the best ""slalom dancer"" on flat courses. Today marks her second consecutive slalom win, after her previous successes in Germany's Berchtesgaden in January and at Copper Mountain at the end of November. She was 3rd in the first leg, 65/100 behind Trine Bakke, and had no other choice but to go for it in the second run, in order to improve her standings.

"I gave all that I had in me from the start and I was pretty tired in the last gates. Fortunately, I'm in great shape and I was able to achieve a strong and a clean run...." — Spela Pretnar (SLO)

"I was pretty relaxed in the first run but I wanted more in the second run," she explained. "I gave all that I had in me from the start and I was pretty tired in the last gates. Fortunately, I'm in great shape and I was able to achieve a strong and a clean run.

"I, myself, am amazed by my great season — I didn't expect it at all at the beginning of the winter. It's quite incredible to now fight for the slalom World Cup standings. I'm very excited to race again in Åre, where I won my first slalom last year. And I like Bormio, too. I won my first giant slalom there during the 1995 Finals. It will be a tough battle until the end."

Ironically, the outgoing Pretnar, a TV reporter in the off-season, had decided to give up ski racing last spring to study economy in the US. She even missed the first training camps before changing her mind. Now, she may well decide to keep on skiing at least another year — maybe until the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City.

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Pretnar has had some bad luck in past battles over medals. At the championships at Vail last season, she straddled a gate in the second run while fighting for gold in the slalom. This made her so depressed, she didn't enjoy her first success in that event two weeks later, in Åre.

Yet, her standings lead over Christel Saioni (FRA) is quite small — only four points. Saioni doesn't know how to handle this new situation. "When I thought about the season, last summer, I was aiming for some top-10 results and now I'm fighting for the Crystal Globe — it's quite incredible," she said. "I had problems in both runs today, and I was quite pleased to finish second in the end."

	Koznick

Kristina Koznick was one of the fastest skiers in the second run, as well. Her strong 5th-place finish boosted her morale in the first run and this time she was able to improve her position in the second leg. "It's for sure a great result, especially after the tough moments I went through in the last months," said Koznick. "I went home after Berchtesgaden and that was a good idea. I could do my laundry and relax a while. I needed such a result to regain my momentum before the end of the season. I know that I can win again."

The next women's races will take place in Åre, where a night giant slalom, a downhill and a slalom are scheduled from Thursday to Sunday. Michaela Dorfmeister will have to fight hard to retain her lead in front of Renate Goetschl and Régine Cavagnoud.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent