Eye toward Olympics, Vonn dominates in win
It’s exactly what Lindsey Vonn was hoping for — a dominant victory one month before she goes for gold at the Olympics.
Vonn amped up her preparations for the Pyeongchang Games by winning a World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, by a large margin Saturday while Italian rival Sofia Goggia avoided a major crash with the help of a safety air bag.
Vonn clocked 1 minute, 36.48 seconds on the sun-drenched Olympia delle Tofane course for a 0.92-second advantage over Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.
“I know what I’m capable of. This weekend just proves it,” Vonn said. “No matter what happens from here to the Olympics I’ll be confident. I have a good feeling on my skis. I feel balanced, in control and solid. This weekend was really important for me.
“This is just the momentum that I was hoping for and that I was planning on going to the Olympics,” added Vonn, who celebrated by riding an electric bicycle — a gift from the local organizing committee — around on the snow in the finish area.
Vonn’s U.S. teammate Jacqueline Wiles finished third, 0.98 seconds behind, for her second career podium result.
Vonn clocked 80 mph in the schuss, an imposing and narrow chute between two huge rock outcrops on the top section of the course.
“It was good, clean skiing today. I didn’t make any big mistakes like yesterday,” said Vonn, who finished second in Friday’s downhill after an error midway down.
It was Vonn’s second win this season, a record 12th in Cortina and 79th of her career — moving her within seven of Ingemar Stenmark’s record 86 World Cup victories.
“When I get to Korea there will be no holding back no matter what the conditions are. This is what I’ve been working for for the last eight years,” said Vonn, who missed the 2014 Sochi Games due to a series of knee injuries.
Thomas Dressen ended Germany’s 13-year wait for a men’s World Cup downhill victory, beating the prerace favorites in the classic Hahnenkamm race at Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Hannes Reichelt of Austria was 0.41 seconds behind in third, and Aksel Lund Svindal trailed by 1.12 seconds in eighth. The Norwegian won Friday’s super-G on the same hill. Figure skating: Russia’s Alina Zagitova, 15, was nearly flawless in her free skate in Moscow and won gold in her debut at the European Figure Skating Championships, snapping the two-year winning streak of training partner Evgenia Medvedeva. Luge: At Lillehammer, Norway, American Summer Britcher claimed her fourth luge World Cup victory, adding her name to the list of potential medal winners at the Winter Olympics. Britcher’s U.S. teammate Erin Hamlin finished 0.490 seconds off the pace in ninth place.