14 JAN 2001 > Women's Slalom
Seven Out of Six
Slalom Results  Combined Results

You could feel the tension around the finish area as Janica Kostelic stood at the top of the course in the start house, put her poles over the timing gate, and got ready to throw herself into the first gates during the second run of the slalom at Flachau today.

The Croatian teenager, who 10 days ago turned 19, was the fastest skier in the first run, but there was more than just another slalom victory at stake during her in the second run. She needed a strong run to have a chance at clinching the overall combined title, a paper race, the winner of which is determined by addding the time of yesterday's downhill to the total time of this slalom.

"It's fun to have won eight slaloms in a row but I don't forget how lucky I'm to have come back...."

America's Caroline Lalive, a strong 7th in the downhill on Saturday, had just achieved an excellent slalom run to take a clear lead in this classification. The thousands of spectators waiting along the sunny course — including a huge and noisy group from Croatia — plus the numerous media and all the racers, were curious to see how Janica would face this exciting challenge.

They were not disappointed. After a controlled run in the upper part, Janica played with bith her skis and the course in the final turns, where the TV cameras showed her smiling while cruising at high speeds around gates.

After skiing very aggressively in the final section, she beat — by over a second and a half — her closest rival, France's Laure Pequegnot, who had lost only 2/100 on her in the morning run.

Janica's father, Ante Kostelic, could only shake his head with pride while his daughter jumped up and down in the finish area and waved to her fans.

What a day for Janica Kostelic. She won two events in one day to regain the leadership in the Overall World Cup standings and she also equalled the previous records set by past all-time slalom queens Erika Hess and Vreni Schneider of Switzerland. Hess won the final six slaloms in 1981 and Schneider all seven World Cup slaloms of the 1988-'89 season and the first one of the next winter.

"I don't know how she's doing this — she gained a full second on her closest rivals in second half of the course. It's amazing. And she was smiling, too" said an impressed Ante Kostelic.

"Why not?" asked Janica. "It's always important to smile when there are so many happy people and all those cameras," she explained. "I was having a great time on that course."

Kostelic was pleased to clinch the combined, but she didn't make a big deal out of it, saying, "It's nothing special for me. This is not going to change my life," she said. "It's fun to have won eight slaloms in a row but I don't forget how lucky I'm to have come back from my terrible crash from last year.

"I always try my best. I don't feel any pressure in this moment after my fantastic season start. I hope to keep the same mental attitude in the coming weeks," she added. "I will treat the World Championships as a normal race and if I'm lucky, I'll clinch a medal, if not, it's okay too."

And she is not preoccupied by the Overall World Cup standings which she is now again leading. "There are so many speed races left that I don't see how Renate Goetschl can lose it. I would be happy to win the slalom standings but there are still three or four races left there."

In fact, if she scores more points in the coming slaloms planned in Germany and Sweden, Janica could become the youngest winner of a Crystal Globe. "We hope that the slalom cancelled at Maribor will be replaced because it could be decisive for the issue of the Overall standings," her father said.

Kostelic's performance overshadowed the rest of the competition, which was not too positive for the US skiers. Sarah Schleper never found her rhythm in the first run and didn't qualify. Kristina Koznick was also far from her best level.

Lalive, the 21-year-old racer from Steamboat Springs is enjoying an exciting time and should be able to aim for a medal in the combined at the World Championships.

— Patrick Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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