Women's Super G
Mojca Suhadolc is a patient and a strong-minded athlete. Seven years after her debut on the World Cup tour, the 24-year-old Slovene overcame injuries and frustrating moments in recent years to celebrate her first victory on the World Cup tour in the super G race at Lake Louise today. It's the second win for her team after Spela Pretnar's slalom success 10 days ago at Colorado's Copper Mountain.

	Mojca Suhadolc

Starting with bib number 1, Suhadolc was able to take advantage of a perfect course to beat the top German specialist Hilde Gerg by a mere 2/100 of a second. Gerg placed 2nd in the downhill on Saturday.

Italy's Isolde Kostner confirmed her strong form in again reaching the podium with 3rd place while Austria's Renate Goetschl, who missed a gate in Saturday's downhill, came in 6th, just behind the Canadian Melanie Turgeon. No US skier could score points in this race, but Jonas Mendes came closest, missing the cut by a few hundredths of a second to finish 32nd.

"It was quite hard to wait so long in the finish area, I was very nervous since I had to wait until the last skier to be sure that I finally won my first race...." — Mojca Suhadolc (SLO)

In training, Mojca Suhadolc sets her sights on becoming a top speed specialist, unlike her teammates who focus on the technical events. But her journey up to the top has been long and difficult, as her team doesn't have strong traditions in the speed events. In December 1995, she stood on the podium twice in Val d'Isère in super G and giant slalom, but she could not repeat these great results in the years to come. Suhadolc had to swim against the current, plagued by injuries and other difficulties, including new equipment and poor motivation.

In recent years, she scored only two top-10 finishes in super G — today and in December 1997. After her excellent 6th place in the downhill yesterday — her best ever on the World Cup — she felt ready for more in the super G. Yet she didn't expected to do as well as she did.

"I didn't mind starting with number 1 because I had no time to get nervous," she said after the race. "But I didn't have the feeling I was skiing so fast."

	Podium

In fact, the shy Slovene left the finish area right after her run and she had to be found and brought, once it appeared that her time was a very fast one. "It was quite hard to wait so long in the finish area, I was very nervous since I had to wait until the last skier to be sure that I finally won my first race," Suhadolc added.

"It's a very special feeling — I was dreaming for many years for this moment. It opens me to new opportunities. It's great to feel able to win races," she said. "Such a season start will boost my morale."

In fact she beat some of the best world specialists of the event, including the 1997 super G World Cup Champion Hilde Gerg, who with today's 2nd place finish took her fifth stand on the podium in Lake Louise - but she was not to upset.

"I feel better than in the past races," she said. "Now I can look forward with a better feeling." Gerg, the runner-up in the 1999 Overall World Cup standings, is one of the top favorites for the victory this season in the absence of Alexandra Meissnitzer, who badly injured her knee earlier in the week.

— Manuele Joyce, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent