After last year's success there, it's not surprising that Lindsey Vonn is looking forward to getting back to the Finnish resort for the opening slalom event of the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season on November 14.
In 2008, Lindsey won the event by 0.4 seconds from Swede Maria Pietilae-Holmner, with her great friend Maria Riesch of Germany in third, and it was the first victory in what became a stellar season for the 25-year-old American. Though she will admit that slalom is not her strongest suit - she eventually placed third in the event last year behind Riesch and Sarka Zahrobska (CZE), her dominance in other events actually bringing her the overall World Cup title - she has declared herself pleased with her slalom preparations in her home resort of Vail, Colorado, ahead of her trip to Europe for the event in Levi in search of back-to-back wins there.
"This is a really unique situation," Vonn said of the Vail course, which now benefits from snowmaking facilities and water injection that create icy conditions of the like that Vonn will encounter this weekend and which she prefers to help sharpen her skills. "To have perfect injection at this time of year is unheard of. Not only that, it's essentially my own course.
"That's exactly what I need. It's perfect for testing skis and perfect preparation for Levi," she added.
Slalom will remain on Lindsey's agenda as the FIS World Cup continues with giant slalom and slalom contests taking place in quick succession in Aspen (USA) on November 28 and 29.
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| Vonn won her first slalom at Levi in 2008 Photo: Agence Zoom |
Courtesy of Red Bull
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