If anyone wonders where Lindsey Vonn’s inspiration comes from, at least part of the answer lies with her friend and closest rival on the slopes, Maria Riesch from Germany.
Last weekend at Lake Louise in British Columbia, Vonn watched as Riesch won two World Cup races to take the overall points lead. In the downhill, Vonn nearly slipped off course, but made a miraculous recovery to save herself and finish second. But Riesch stepped to the top of the podium, just like the day before.
So in Sunday’s super-G, on a hill where she has won 13 World Cup podiums, Vonn said she had more than a little fire in her belly to beat her rival. Riesch skied before her, and by the time Vonn got on course, she gained on the German at every split time, cruising into first.
“I really wanted to close out this weekend and leave on a positive note,’’ Vonn said. “In the downhill I skied well, but made that mistake. So I’m just ecstatic. I was a little worried, but I skied with aggression and passion. So I feel great about winning this one.’’
Meanwhile, in the men’s World Cup at Beaver Creek in Colorado, US skiers came up empty in the first two races.
But again, in Sunday’s giant slalom, Ted Ligety turned in a pair of spectacular runs to win his sixth World Cup race by a whopping .82 seconds to beat Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud and a pair of young Austrians.
Like Vonn, Ligety gained time over his rivals at every split and said the race became a go-for-broke dash down one of the steepest, most challenging courses on the circuit.
“I was pretty nervous in both runs,’’ said Ligety after the second run. “I knew I had to go for it, so I wasn’t conservative. I took a lot of risks. Rarely have I been this tired at the bottom, but I knew I couldn’t let up. I was really psyched to see that green light when I came through the finish.’’
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