After the cancellation of the ladies‘and men’s super G races on Thursday, the number of globes still up for grabs has decreased to four.
The small globes in super combined were already won before Finals week by Ivica Kostelic on the men’s side and America’s Lindsey Vonn on the ladies’ side. Kostelic also bagged the large globe for the overall standings last weekend in Kvitfjell, while Vonn has clinched the trophies in downhill and super G in Tarvisio two weeks prior. The ladies’ slalom title has also already been taken ahead of the Lenzerheide Finals by world champion Marlies Schild. The Austrian has won every single race that she finished this season and has already won her third small globe in this event.
That leaves us on the ladies’ side with the two globes in the overall and giant slalom standings still to be distributed, while the men will be fighting for the giant slalom and slalom titles on Friday and Saturday.
One day after winning the downhill trophy, Didier Cuche stood to benefit from the cancellation of the super G. The Swiss was in the lead after his super G victory last Sunday in Kvitfjell, Norway, heading into the Finals week with a 68 point-advantage over his first real persecutor, Ivica Kostelic of Croatia.
“It is a bit unusual to realize that you won another globe at 8:00 am in the morning, when you are offered Champagne by your staff entering the room to congratulate you. To win two globes on consecutive days certainly feels special and amazing. Capturing the super G title, was a goal of mine early on in the season when I realized I had fast skis that stay quiet in the turns and that allow me to push hard,” the 36-year-old skier from Neuchatel said. It is Cuche’s first super G trophy and compliments his giant slalom title from 2009 and the four downhill titles.
Today’s cancellation of the super G was not ideal for Lindsey Vonn as she was deprived of the opportunity to further extend her lead in the overall World Cup, especially considering that the American has been virtually unstoppable in the discipline, winning four races and finishing second twice.
The 26-year-old has a 27 point-advantage over Germany’s Maria Riesch, who was stronger in giant slalom and slalom throughout the 2010/11 season except for her appearance this past week in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech.
Globes still up for grabs on Friday and Saturday:
MEN:
Giant slalom: The three times winner and world champion Ted Ligety of the United States is leading the discipline standings by 77 points over Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal and is 80 points ahead of the French Cyprien Richard. It would be the second consecutive crystal globe in that discipline for the American.
Slalom: A duel between Ivica Kostelic and Jean-Baptiste Grange is on the horizon, in which the Croat holds a 36 point advantage over the French world champion. The third-placed Swede Andre Myhrer (95) is already too far behind these two to stand a real chance to still capture the globe.
LADIES:
Overall: In 2008, American Lindsey Vonn was 157 points ahead of her closest rival and friend Maria Riesch of Germany with four races left in the season. The year after, Vonn had a remarkable 369 point advantage over the German and in 2010 it was 245 points. In 2010, the American is leading 1705-1678 with two races left on the calendar. The decision whether Vonn can secure the large globe for the fourth consecutive time or not will come down to the last two technical races after the super G was canceled. The American has won eight season competitions in three disciplines, while the German claimed six victories in four disciplines indicating that Riesch is the better all-rounder. The Slovenian Tina Maze in third place is trailing Riesch by 639 points.
Giant slalom: Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg moved to the top of the standings in Spindleruv Mlyn and is leading by 77 points over second-placed Tessa Worley from France (358). Rebensburg would like to repeat what her teammate Kathrin Hölzl achieved last year, namely to win the giant slalom standings. The six victories in six races have been evenly distributed between Rebensburg and Worley but the German also claimed a second place, which puts her narrowly ahead in the standings. Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen in third (240) is too far behind to still have a say in the outcome.
