Women's Slalom
A week after American Daron Rahlves' first downhill win in Kvitfjell, Norway, Kristina Koznick enriched the US women's team by beating the two best slalom specialists of the season with two solid runs in Sestrière for her third World Cup success.

	Kristina Koznick

France's Christel Saioni was 2nd at 4/100 of a second behind Koznick, and Slovenia's Spela Pretnar was 3rd at 7/100. Both Saioni and Pretnar have to fight now until the last day of the Finals at Bormio for the 2000 slalom crown.

Sweden's teenager Anja Paerson, who dominated the first run by 74/100 ahead of Koznick and Pretnar, both tied in the first run, had to be content with a frustrating 4th place. Paerson was not able to handle the soft snow which covered the course in the afternoon. Claudia Riegler from New Zealand was 5th ahead of another Slovenian, Natasha Bokal.

Two other US skiers also had a good day in Italy: Caroline Lalive, who finished 13th, and Sarah Schleper, 16th. Lalive, who finished 8th in the first run, missed a strong chance to qualify for the World Cup finals in Bormio next week. She finishes the slalom standings in 29th position, only twenty points behind Leila Piccard's qualifying 25th place. Sarah Schleper reached a promising 21st place in the slalom standings and will race in Bormio. She made a great recovery in the second run after clocking the 25th fastest time in the first leg.

"I had nothing to loose because I didn't care if I was second again or skied out. I just wanted to win again — nothing else was in my mind..." — Kristina Koznick (USA)

But Lalive and Schleper were more concerned with teammate Koznick's great victory, and they were happy to celebrate the first US victory of the season for the US women's team.

The 24-year-old Koznick, from Burnsville, Minnesota, has celebrated an impressive comeback during recent weeks after a disastrous season start. Before the seventh slalom race in Santa Caterina, her best result was 8th place here in Sestrière last December, after starting the season with a disappointing 17th at Copper Mountain in November.

Then Koznick skied out in Serre Chevalier and went down to 21st place in Lienz. She kept on struggling until Santa Caterina, where she moved up again by finishing 4th. Three weeks ago, she was 2nd at Are and ready for more.

Koznick proved herself here by fighting with confidence in both runs. She wanted this win, her first since Semmering, Austria, in December 1998. She was delighted to achieve her goal after having to fight so hard during the last four months. "It has been a very difficult season for me, and I had to be patient in finding my rhythm back," she said with a great smile.

"I didn't give up my hopes after the first run, despite Paerson's advance," Koznick continued. "In ski racing, everything is possible until the finish line. The first run was perfectly prepared, but the snow was soft in the afternoon because of the warm temperatures. It was easy to make a mistake, but I pushed myself at the limits. I had nothing to loose because I didn't care if I was second again or skied out. I just wanted to win again — nothing else was in my mind."

Koznick explained that she lost her momentum and her confidence during the first part of the season searching for a more efficient ski. She had to test several pairs instead of focusing on her skiing and her technique. "I had many problems getting adjusted to my new equipment after I switched to Volkl. I spent a lot of time last summer finding the fastest model, then suddenly these new shorts skis came out at Copper Mountain. I had to start everything from scratch," Koznick explained at the press conference.

"Finally, I decided that to remain on the 1.70 model until the end of the season and I trained hard with them before the slalom at Santa Caterina. I was so happy when I was 4th there, thanks to a great second run. I knew that I could return at the top — it was just a matter of time."

	Christel Saioni

The fight for the slalom World Cup title remains open until the last race at the Finals in Bormio. Christel Saioni's strong 2nd place here is the first time she was able to beat Spela Pretnar in a second run since her 3rd-place finish here last December. This time, she achieved two strong runs in a row to gain further ground in the slalom standings. Pretnar advanced from 55 to 35 — still a lot to make up for Saioni.

"I don't mind being the dark horse. In fact, I feel more comfortable with this position," Saioni said. "I will be more relaxed in Bormio when I have less to loose than Spela. As my husband tells me all the time, the most important thing is to have the leader's red bib at the end of the last slalom — not before. The Finals will be quite exciting."

This is also Spela Pretnar's opinion. The Slovenian was quite proud to have reached the podium for the fifth consecutive time this year. Her best result on this slope was a 10th place last December. This time she had no problem handling the first steep part of the course where she lost time in the past.

"This makes everything more interesting for all of us," Pretnar admitted. "I don't mind waiting until the last race in Bormio to secure the Crystal Cup. I like to compete there. During the finals in March, 1995, I won my first race in Bormio, a giant slalom. Later on, I reached my first podium in slalom there in January, 1998. So I feel quite relaxed and confident at the moment. Since I finished 2nd in my home race at Maribor, I know that I have no problem at all handling the pressure. I'm enjoying a great season so far, and the World Cup title would be the cherry on the cake."

In the giant slalom this coming Saturday, Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister will try to secure the GS World Cup a week before the Finals. She has a strong lead of 78 points over Switzerland's Sonja Nef, who has not recovered from her spectacular crash in the Are slalom. She still suffers from an ankle injury for which she received acupuncture treatments last week. Nef has not been able to ski since her crash in Sweden.

Among the main favorites for the stage victory are Austria's veteran Anita Wachter, Anna Ottosson from Sweden, Allison Forsyth from Canada, Birgit Heeb from Liechtenstein, Andrine Flemmen from Norway, Régine Cavagnoud from France and Silke Bachmann from Italy.

— Patrick Lang, MountainZone.com World Cup Correspondent