Women's Super G #2
Austria's Renate Goetschl had something to prove in this second consecutive super G race on the Olympic Pascherkofel run in Innsbruck; she won her fifth race of the season, after taking 2nd yesterday behind first-time winner, Canadian Melanie Turgeon.

	Goetschl

Goetschl, the super G World Cup leader and top favorite for the Overall victory, beat Turgeon by only 16/100 of a second. Slovenia's Mojca Suhadolc, a winner earlier in Lake Louise, came in 3rd in front of Italian Isolde Kostner, who had a disappointing week in Austria, reaching only reach a couple of 4th-place finished.

The French skiers had good team results, with three skiers among the best 10, including the unexpected Fujiko Sekino, a Japanese racer who grew up in France with her parents. She came in 8th — the best super G result of her career.

It was quite a fight until the end between Goetschl and Turgeon, two very aggressive skiers. After an average start, Turgeon regained all her momentum in the lower part of the course, missing her second consecutive success by only a small margin. But the 23-year-old Canadian, who again wore bib #4, was pleased.

"I can ski better when I have to take more risks. I was happy with my second place yesterday, but it's always better to win, of course...." — Renate Goetschl (AUT)

"I had a good run but I made more mistakes than yesterday," she said afterwards. "I concentrated and could attack the way I wanted, without loosing control of myself or my skis.

"It's okay to be second behind Renate and ahead of Mojca, who are both excellent super G skiers. Renate is having an outstanding season so far and I'm quite pleased and proud to be able to challenge her. The conditions were fine after so many races on the same track," Turgeon added.

With this newest top-3 result — her third, including her 3rd place in downhill at Sierra Nevada last winter — Turgeon now has a strong chance at a spot on the podium in the super G standings. It's quite an achievement for her, especially since there are not so many Canadian skiers who have achieved similar performances in the past. Karen Lee Gartner and Kate Pace won gold at Olympics and Ski World Championships in 1992 and 1993, but there have been no other exceptional Canadian finishes until now.

"This last week was incredibly rich and exciting for me," she said after the race. "I have learned a lot and made great progress in the way of handling myself and the pressure. I'm looking forward to Lenzerheide. I hope I'm on a roll now."

	Turgeon

Goetschl was quite pleased to have returned on the top of the podium for the fifth time of the season, equaling her excellent '98-'99 season. And there are still more races to come for her.

"I had a strong run and I enjoyed the challenge from Melanie," she said. "I can ski better when I have to take more risks. I was happy with my second place yesterday, but it's always better to win. of course."

With Michaela Dorfmeister finishing only 12th, Goetschl increased her lead in the Overall standings again. It's quite difficult to imagine now that she can lose the Crystal Globe at the finals in Bormio, Italy, where Dorfmeister will have to fight hard against Sonja Nef for the giant slalom title.

America's Jonna Mendes, in 19th position, was the only US skier to have placed. Her teammates Alison Powers, Kirsten Clark and Caroline Lalive did not finish the race.

The next women's race will take place next weekend in Switzerland's Lenzerheide, where a downhill and a super G are planned. Another duel between Turgeon and Goetschl can be expected.

— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com European Correspondent