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**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:40 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 13) - Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) is one step closer to capturing the World Cup overall title after finishing 12th in a dramatic super G race that eliminated Austrian Benny Raich and distanced Switzerland's Didier Cuche from the title as World Cup Finals got underway in Bormio, Italy Thursday. Miller only needs a single top 15 finish in the final two races to clinch the Audi FIS World Cup title.

Austrian Hannes Reichelt won the men's race, which, in a surprising twist, allowed him to take the World Cup super G title from Cuche by just one point. Cuche, who was the super G leader by 99 points going into Thursday's race, finished 16th and collected no World Cup points.

Cuche's finish also puts him 191 points behind Miller for the overall World Cup title. Although not impossible to make up, it would require him to win the remaining two events with Miller finishing outside the top 15. Raich, who was also in contention for the overall, now sits 236 points behind Miller even after finishing fourth in the super G, which puts him too far back to win.

The U.S. Ski Team's Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) entered the super G primarily to get a firsthand look at the hill in preparation for his World Cup title bid on Friday.

"I'm feeling confident after winning the last giant slalom, so we'll see how it goes, Ligety said. "It's going to be a long giant slalom course tomorrow so I'm going to have to get my legs ready for sure. I made a lot of mistakes up top, so I knew I was out of it. I just tried to skate back on the course and just make it down."

Ligety is headed into the giant slalom finals leading the standings by 27 points over Raich with Italy's Manfred Moelgg close behind. He put himself in position for the Audi FIS World Cup GS title with a win last weekend in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

"I just have to stay focused. I can't ski like I did today and go on some wild ride," Ligety said. "It's going to be tough for all of us. I never took a race where I wasn't 100 percent going for it and I need to start pushing those limits now."

Ligety needs a win or second on Friday to clinch the title. If he does, it will be the third globe so far for American skiers. Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) won the downhill and has nearly clinched the overall. Miller captured the super combined title and is virtually locked on the men's overall. Both Vonn and Miller need only one top 15 to clinch.

The races are all covered by WCSN's $4.95 monthly subscription fee, which also offers free access to video highlights and breaking news as well as athlete blogs, including the U.S. Ski Team's Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA).

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP FINALS
Bormio, ITA - March 13, 2008
Men's Super G

1. Hannes Reichelt, Austria, 1:45.00
2. Didier Defago, Switzerland, 1:45.01
3. Ales Gorza, Slovenia, 1:45.34
4. Benny Raich, Austria, 1:45.38
5. Francois Bourque, Canada, 1:45.51
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12. Bode Miller, Bretton Woods, NH, 1:46.01

Disqualified - Ted Ligety, Park City, UT

**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:43 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 13) - Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) saved her best super G in over a year for World Cup Finals, finishing second and virtually locking up the Audi FIS World Cup title. Her finish eliminated defending champion Nicole Hosp of Austria from contention, and left her 197 points ahead of German Maria Riesch with two events remaining.

Vonn shocked the field, coming down 15th and taking the lead. Riesch, the World Cup super G leader, couldn't match the American and eventually finished sixth. Only Swiss Fabienne Suter was able to knock Vonn out of the winner's spot to take her second career super G win, .26 ahead of Vonn. Riesch also hung on to take the super G globe, her second after winning the super combined title last Sunday.

"It was definitely a good time to pull through in super G," said Vonn. "I've been working with Rossignol on my skis and it paid off. We did some testing before Crans-Montana and I changed my ski setup around a little bit. And my skis were really fast today!"

The course was rugged and soft but Vonn was happy with her tactics. "My goal was to ski solid and not risk a lot, just to stay ahead of the course," she said. "I was active and aggressive with the way I skied. But I kept my line conservative in places. It was cool that we were able to run the men's course."

While a win would have wrapped up the Audi FIS World Cup title for Vonn mathematically, she still has a virtual lock. Riesch is the only remaining contender. The German would need to win both Friday's slalom and Saturday's giant slalom. And Vonn can clinch it herself with a single top 15 finish in one of the two remaining events.

But the mathematics are just a formality. Both Hosp and Riesch congratulated Vonn in the finish as the new World Cup champion.

"Niki came up to me in the winner's circle to congratulate me on a great season," said Vonn. "She was really, really nice. I know she was hurting. She was a very gracious champion today and that was cool. Maria also congratulated me on the overall and I did the same for her on the super G title."

The U.S. Ski Team's Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) was seventh with Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) 13th, matching her best finish of the season.

Vonn and Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) find themselves in similar situations. Vonn holds a 197 margin over Riesch, and Miller is 191 ahead of Swiss Didier Cuche. Both need only a single top 15 finish in either of the final two races to clinch.

Vonn will be in her most challenging discipline, slalom, on Friday. Vonn has not been inside the top 15 this season in a slalom, but was fourth fastest in her last combined slalom outing. She has 10 career top 15 slalom finishes. Riesch, meanwhile, has not had a top 15 GS this year but was on a slalom podium.

All eyes will also be on the U.S. Ski Team's Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) on Friday as he takes a 27 point lead into the GS finals.

The races are all covered by WCSN's $4.95 monthly subscription fee, which also offers free access to video highlights and breaking news as well as athlete blogs, including the U.S. Ski Team's Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) and Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA).

OFFICIAL RESULTS
AUDI FIS WORLD CUP
Bormio, Italy - March 13, 2008
Women's Super G

1. Fabienne Suter, Switzerland, 1:19.48
2. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:19.74
3. Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria, 1:19.85
4. Nadia Styger, Switzerland, 1:20.15
5. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 1:20.23
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7. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 1:20.36
13. Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 1:20.49

**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:45 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 14) - Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) completed her best slalom race of the season, finishing 11th and capturing enough points to clinch the Audi FIS World Cup overall title Friday during World Cup Finals in Bormio, Italy. Vonn, who rallied from a first run finish of 25th to win the second run by a .19 margin, is the first American woman to win the World Cup overall title since 1983.

"Today was a great way to close it out and have a really good slalom second run to finish out the season strong," Vonn said. "During my first run, the snow was so slow and I was pretty bummed out about it. I looked at my starting number and realized I had to punch back in there and that's what I did.

"I had a good section and I knew where to go and I went for it. It was pretty sweet. It was definitely a good run and I'm glad I made it to the finish and had a fast time too."

"Lindsey had a pretty bad starting position for the first run and the snow conditions were really soft so in that run she had no chance to do well," said Coach Alex Hoedlmoser. "She was hoping to do well in the second run. She just went out there and had a great run."

Austrian Marlies Schild won the women's slalom, sealing her claim on the World Cup slalom title.

Though it was almost certain that Vonn would end up taking the overall title after finishing second in the super G finals Thursday, she waited until the title was hers officially to try to take it all in.

"It's awesome. I kind of knew yesterday that it was over, but I didn't want to celebrate too early," Vonn said. "First of all, I can't believe I won the downhill, and secondly, it's not even in my realm right now to fathom that I won the overall. Tomorrow when I get the crystal, I think it will set in."

"This is huge. Of all the small globes, the downhill title is the biggest one because it means you are the fastest skier in the world, and that's huge. It was our goal this year," Hoedlmoser said. "Now, having the overall in addition, it's not really something you can predict. She did fantastic in all the other events, too, in order to attain that [overall title]. It's pretty much one of the biggest things that can happen in skiing and she did it."

At a young age, Vonn showed she had the potential to develop into a great athlete, but it was a chance encounter with idol Picabo Street, who won two downhill World Cup globes ('96 and '95), that gave a kid from Minneapolis the inspiration she needed to become the best in the world.

"I've always wanted to win the downhill title because that's what Picabo did. She was always my idol growing up," Vonn said. "Winning it was a very special time for me and today I'm winning the overall."

A competitive skier from the time she was a young girl, Vonn grew up skiing on Buck Hill, a tiny ski area just outside of Minneapolis, where she first fell in love with ski racing.

"I want to succeed in ski racing and I always have since I was a little kid. I have a lot of fun ski racing and I don't ever have a problem finding motivation," Vonn said.

"She has put her whole life into this. She's always working extremely hard. It takes years of experience and it's not easy especially if you want to win an overall title. She's really young to have done that," Hoedlmoser said. "She's done everything she can in practice, in training, and in her whole life to get there. She has that goal and she's just going to go for it."

"I'm always determined. I don't know why or for what I'm determined sometimes, but I just am. It's those goals and dreams I had when I was younger that I think propel me to work hard."

The 2008 Audi FIS Alpine World Cup Finals continue Saturday with a men's slalom and a women's giant slalom before concluding Sunday with a team event.

MULTIMEDIA:
To listen to audio interviews, see video, or view photos from this event click here.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2008 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP FINALS
Bormio, ITA - March 14, 2008
Women's Slalom

1. Marlies Schild, Austria, 1:52.78
2. Veronika Zuzulova, Slovakia, 1:52.85
3. Sarka Zahrobska, Czech Republic, 1:53.02
4. Nicole Hosp, Austria, 1:53.08
5. Chiara Costazza, Italy, 1:53.12
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11. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:54.93

Did not finish second run: Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA

**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:45 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 14) - Mullets, a rare form of hair ingenuity, have made their way back into the forefront of style Friday as Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, UT), the newly crowned World Cup giant slalom champion, allowed the new World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) to cut his hair in celebration of a day of victory.

Ligety, who had been growing his golden blond hair all season on a bet said "I had a bet, but as the season progressed I decided that if I won the GS title I would get a mullet, and today I won the GS title. Lindsey Vonn and my physio cut a sweet little mullet in my head. It's kind of growing on me."

Also an young entrepreneur owning his own ski goggle company, Shred Goggles, Ligety mentioned next year's model of hunter orange Shred goggles would likely match the mullet best. He feels that his hair accomplishes everything that his previously long locks did, and then some.

"I talked about having the mud flap [his long hair that sticks out of his helmet] as being aerodynamic," Ligety said. "So, at least now I'm business up front with the advantage of still having the mud flap in the back.

"It's tough to beat this. I don't think there's any topping this. Lindsey really did an awesome job with this. The congratulations go to her."

**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:47 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 15) - Reinfried Herbst of Austria pulled out all the stops Saturday to win the World Cup Finals slalom. Manfred Moelgg of Italy finished sixth, securing the overall slalom title ahead of Jean-Baptiste Grange of France by only 19 points. Grange finished 16th in the race, just outside the range where he would have earned World Cup points and secured the title for himself.

**truebluefan** · 03-15-2008, 10:47 AM

BORMIO, Italy (March 14) - Newly crowned champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), in the final race of the World Cup season, moved from 12th after the first run to finish seventh in Saturday's giant slalom in Bormio. Austria's Elisabeth Goergl picked up the win. Italian Denise Karbon had already clinched the title with a dominating season.

Goergl won in 2:24.96, .07 ahead of Italy's Manuela Moelgg. Vonn was .71 back from the winner.

In what is becoming Lindsey Vonn style, the champion had the second fastest second run to land her second best career GS finish. She had been sixth in Ofterschwang, Germany in January.

There were no titles at stake in the GS finale, with Karbon having locked up the title earlier after a sensational season winning five of seven races. Karbon finished eighth, the first time she was not on a GS podium this season.

Vonn will now head to the the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships which open next weekend in Sugarloaf, ME.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
Bormio, Italy - March 14, 2008
Women's Giant Slalom

1. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 2:24.96
2. Manuela Moelgg, Italy, 2:25.03
3. Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 2:24.26
4. Ingrid Jacquemod, France, 2:25.28
5. Tanja Poutiainen, Finland, 2:25.35
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7. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 2:25.67

Did not finish first run:
Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA

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