Austria's Renate Goetschl ignored cheating allegations and tore through flat light and tricky visibility Saturday to win her first race of the season during the World Cup super-G in Lake Louise, in Canada.
The defending World Cup overall and super-G champion skied almost flawlessly through the technical midsection of the course to narrowly beat France's Regine Cavagnoud, 4th the two previous days in downhill races, by only 13/100 of a second.
German all-event skier Martina Ertl struck back after some disappointing downhill results to finish 3rd, reinforcing her lead in the overall standings.
Her teammate Petra Haltmayer, winner of the first downhill, confirmed her strong form with 4th place, ahead of last year's winner Mojca Suhadolc from Slovenia.
"I had done nothing bad, so I forgot about it. I was totally focused on this race."
Jonna Mendes was again the best US skier on the hill at 15th, and her teammate Kirsten Clark was 20th.
It was sweet revenge for Goetschl to win after undergoing equipment tests after finishing 3rd in the downhill on Thursday.
Italy's Isolde Kostner, after winning the downhill, stirred a small firestorm Thursday night and Friday when she contended Goetschl hid something from her ski boot after the race at the inspection. When the Kostner asked a race official to check again, he ignored her appeal, Kostner said, even though Goetschl may have been cheating.
Friday, the International Ski Federation (FIS) supervisor inspected the boots of most racers more carefully and disqualified two skiers, among them USA's Megan Gerety. Saturday, as the controversy swirled about possible cheating, the first 30 racers were checked without incident.
"Isolde came to congratulate me, but we said nothing of the cheating allegation," said Goetschl, who collected her 17th World Cup win and her 6th in super-G. "I don't know what Isolde has seen. She should have come to talk directly to me instead of complaining to the controller."
Goetschl added that the controversy didn't faze her as she prepared for the race. "I think it is history. I left it behind me Friday night. I had done nothing bad, so I forgot about it. I was totally focused on this race."
After her
strong, 3rd place in the first downhill, Goetschl wanted a better result in the super-G. "I like to compete here since I already won several races on that hill. I ski with confidence here. An early-season win is very good for my morale. Last year, I had to wait several months before my first win. This success is also important for my new ski supplier. It proved that we are working well together."
Although the visibility was tricky and the light was flat, Goetschl said she was comfortable on the course after three downhill training runs and two races.
Cavagnoud, 2nd, is having her
best season start ever. Since Soelden's GS, she has three 4ths and two 2nd places in three disciplines. "I attacked from the start, but made one mistake in the middle of the run and that cost me the race.
Still, this is a good result for me. I don't like the flat light, but I knew I had to take it on myself, force myself to attack, even in these conditions," Cavagnoud said. The French skier leads the super-G World Cup list with 2nd-place results in the two super-Gs that have been held so far.
Martina Ertl, winner of the opening race of the season in Soelden, Austria, retained her lead in the overall World Cup points standings. "My attitude has changed this year regarding difficult racing conditions, and now I think, even with flat light, I can do it. I can ski well," she said.
Ertl finished four times on the podium so far this winter in three different specialties. If she regains her momentum in downhill too, she will be hard to beat in the Overall standings.
The next women's race, a super-G, is planned for next Wednesday in Val d'Isere, France. America's Picabo Street's return should be a good boost for her team which reached some good results here during the week.
— Patrick Lang, World Cup Correspondent
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