Kathrin Hoelzl was the woman to beat all day at the Audi FIS Sko World Cup giant slalom event in Aspen, but nobody could get passed her.
The German world GS champion won the first run and then the race with a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 9.63 seconds, on a course that many racers classify as the most difficult on the women's GS circuit.
"It was very very icy, but my material was perfect," Hoelzl said. "I had very strong edges and that was the right thing today. You have to fight on every gate. That's what I like."
Though she is the reigning world GS champ, Saturday's race marked Hoelzl's inaugural World Cup victory and she said it was a dream come true.
"I feel great today," she said. "In the morning when I woke up I was ready to race today and to win."
Austrian Kathrin Zettel, who won the Aspen GS in 2006, was second Saturday, .24 seconds behind Hoelzl and Italian Federica Brignone was 1.13 seconds back in third for her first ever World Cup podium.
"I'm really excited about the result," said Brignone, who is the daughter of famed former Italian tech specialist Maria Rosa Quario. "I didn't expect a race like this. The slope is really good. It was really icy. I had a big mistake on last part of the first run, but the second run ... it was perfect."
Zettel, who also finished second earlier this season in Soelden and missed the Levi slalom due to illness, said Aspen is a special place for her.
"I like Aspen very much," Zettel said. "You have to fight on this course and work very hard, but I really like it here."
For a few moments during the second run it looked as if Italians were going to rule the day. Brignone's teammates Manuela Moelgg, Nicole Gius and Denise Karbon each had a few seconds in the leader's box and all ended up in the top 10, finishing seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.
Brignone said her team has spent the last couple of weeks training in Loveland, Colo., where conditions were very similar to the slope in Aspen.
"It was more icy than here," she said. "It was difficult, but it was cool. It was help for today."
Despite their best intentions, the U.S. Team didn't fair as well as it would have liked in front of its home crowd. Lindsey Vonn hit a rock in the first run and was slowed significantly to miss the second run cut.
"I'm just looking forward to tomorrow," Vonn said. "I've hit rocks in training but it's the first time it's ever happened to me in a race. It's unfortunate it happened in Aspen but you just got to take what you get. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day."
By Shauna Farnell, www.skiracing.com
