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Lindsey Vonn back on top in Lake Louise
Lake Louise, Canada – USA's Lindsey Vonn celebrated her comeback onto the World Cup tour with a victory in Saturday's downhill race. She clocked a time of 1:50.48 to lead an American clean sweep of the podium, with teammate Stacey Cook in second place, 0.49 seconds off the pace and Julia Mancuso in third, 0.57 seconds out.
Vonn raced to her 12th World Cup downhill victory at the Alberta resort after 22 months on the sidelines due to her knee injuries.
“Yesterday I knew I skied solid but that I had a lot left to give in the race today,” said Vonn. “I was hopping for a better result. I risked a lot more and I think I skied a lot better. I am extremely happy to be on top of the podium again and also with my two teammates. It couldn't be a better day.”
“I just analysed videos and saw that I was just a little bit high in my tuck yesterday and wasn't pushing myself as hard as I know I can. That comes I think from not having trained that much. So I made the adjustment today. I tried to sit lower in my tuck and to be more aggressive in some turns. It paid off, I was just faster all the way down.”
The overall team performance brings the Americans back to their level of the season 2013/14 in speed events.
“We all have a great team dynamic. Everyone is excited for the season. Having the World Championships in Vail, I think has made everyone excited to try to get some medals on home snow,” concluded Vonn.
After some promising training runs, Stacey Cook showed again how comfortable she is on that slope. Her only two other career podiums came two years ago in Lake Louise, where she finished second in both of the downhill races.
“I think I am as much excited for the whole experience of the three of us being on the podium as I am for myself,” commented Stacey Cook. “I always kind of thought it was something that was possible with our team, because we have come on strong in the last few years. I really wanted to be a part of it when it happens.”
Julia Mancuso landed her fourth World Cup podium in Lake Louise, but that was the first in downhill.
“It's the first downhill podium for a while, so that's exciting”, said Mancuso. “Yesterday I was really focus on skiing and today I was focusing a little more on charging. I think that made a different.”
It snowed overnight and the conditions were a little bit different to what they were for the first downhill on Friday.
“It was definitely a little warmer and there is a little more snow on the course. It was just a little softer but more forgiving, that's why I think the times are faster,” concluded Mancuso.
A super-G race will wrap up an intense week of speed tomorrow Sunday. The start is scheduled for 11:00 local time.
Vonn raced to her 12th World Cup downhill victory at the Alberta resort after 22 months on the sidelines due to her knee injuries.
“Yesterday I knew I skied solid but that I had a lot left to give in the race today,” said Vonn. “I was hopping for a better result. I risked a lot more and I think I skied a lot better. I am extremely happy to be on top of the podium again and also with my two teammates. It couldn't be a better day.”
“I just analysed videos and saw that I was just a little bit high in my tuck yesterday and wasn't pushing myself as hard as I know I can. That comes I think from not having trained that much. So I made the adjustment today. I tried to sit lower in my tuck and to be more aggressive in some turns. It paid off, I was just faster all the way down.”
The overall team performance brings the Americans back to their level of the season 2013/14 in speed events.
“We all have a great team dynamic. Everyone is excited for the season. Having the World Championships in Vail, I think has made everyone excited to try to get some medals on home snow,” concluded Vonn.
After some promising training runs, Stacey Cook showed again how comfortable she is on that slope. Her only two other career podiums came two years ago in Lake Louise, where she finished second in both of the downhill races.
“I think I am as much excited for the whole experience of the three of us being on the podium as I am for myself,” commented Stacey Cook. “I always kind of thought it was something that was possible with our team, because we have come on strong in the last few years. I really wanted to be a part of it when it happens.”
Julia Mancuso landed her fourth World Cup podium in Lake Louise, but that was the first in downhill.
“It's the first downhill podium for a while, so that's exciting”, said Mancuso. “Yesterday I was really focus on skiing and today I was focusing a little more on charging. I think that made a different.”
It snowed overnight and the conditions were a little bit different to what they were for the first downhill on Friday.
“It was definitely a little warmer and there is a little more snow on the course. It was just a little softer but more forgiving, that's why I think the times are faster,” concluded Mancuso.
A super-G race will wrap up an intense week of speed tomorrow Sunday. The start is scheduled for 11:00 local time.
Source: fis-ski.com
