Cortina downhill win puts Vonn on track for Winter Olympics
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — 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 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 massive 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 behind, for her second career podium result.
Goggia, the winner of the past two downhills, lost control landing a jump in the Tofana Schuss and made a quick recovery but could not continue.
“I was able to control the fall with the help of the air bag,” Goggia said. “I ran a big risk. It was scary.”
Many racers wear an air bag in a vest under their racing suits. A complicated algorithm triggers inflation during falls when skiers reach a point where they can no longer regain control.
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.
“And it was just really fun to race. It was a beautiful day — normal, perfect Cortina sunshine — and perfect conditions,” Vonn added. “So it made me really happy just to be out there on the mountain today.”
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.