Hoelzl claims maiden World Cup victory

ASPEN, Colorado (AP) -- Kathrin Hoelzl's 2008 world championship in the giant slalom was seen as something of a fluke, in part because she'd never won a World Cup race.

The German took care of that gap on her resumé Saturday in Aspen, Colo.

With Lindsey Vonn of the United States failing to qualify for the second run, and other top racers also faltering, Hoelzl earned her first World Cup victory with two strong charges down an icy, bumpy course she found to her liking.

Hoelzl turned in the fastest first run by nearly a half-second and used that advantage to beat runner-up Kathrin Zettel of Austria. Federica Brignone of Italy was third, the first World Cup podium finish for the 19-year-old.

Hoelzl finished with a total time of two minutes 9.63 seconds in the first North American stop on the World Cup circuit. Zettel was 0.24 back, the only competitor within a second of the winner.

Marie-Pier Préfontaine of St. Sauveur, Que., placed 25th. She was the only Canadian to qualify for the second run.

Vonn, the two-time overall World Cup champion from Vail, Colo., hit a rock with her right ski and was 39th in the first run. Only the top 30 advanced to the second run.

"I was just trying to make it down, and I was, like, laughing at myself," Vonn said, "because I knew how big of a tool I looked like."

She has yet to have a top-three finish in a giant slalom and things went awry Saturday when she wobbled after knocking the rock on the top half of the course and found her right ski sliding.

Vonn finished the run in 1:08.33, more than 4½ seconds behind Hoelzl.

"I just went onto my right ski and there was nothing. I spun out on the flats — that doesn't normally happen," she said. "I knew right then and there. I was like, 'Oh, God, just from here on out, just make it down.' And that's all I was trying to do."

Other racers described the course as icy and talked about bouncing around on the slopes.

Hoelzl's previous best World Cup finishes both came in giant slaloms: a second place in March 2007 and a third in January 2009. But she did win the GS at last year's world championships, a race Vonn skipped because she had cut her thumb on a champagne bottle during a victory celebration.

Vonn will get another chance to perform in front of her large contingent of local supporters in Sunday's slalom. Vonn was the runner-up to Maria Riesch of Germany in the World Cup season's first slalom at Levi, Finland, two weeks ago.

"Aspen is the toughest place for me. It's got so much terrain. It's like sheer pond ice," Vonn said. "Hopefully tomorrow goes better."

Other top racers who had problems Saturday included Riesch, who finished 14th, and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, who wound up 26th of the 27 women who completed the second run.