05 JAN 2001 > Preview
Invasion of the Croatians

Thanks to the unbelievable performance thus far by Janica Kostelic, this weekend's ladies World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia, should be marked by an invasion of Croatian fans. The Croatian capital of Zagreb is only 120km away from the Pohorje slope, which hosts a slalom and a giant slalom this Saturday and Sunday.

"It will be an exciting weekend for me even if I don't win that slalom...."

"I expect thousands of Croatian ski fans," Kostelic said at Semmering, Austria, last weekend, where she took over the lead in the Overall World Cup standings from German Martina Ertl who suffered a bad crash in GS. Ertl injured her right knee and will be out for at least a month.

In Maribor, Kostelic, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Friday, will be aiming for her sixth consecutive slalom victory, a feat achieved only twice before, by two Swiss skiers, Erika Hess and Vreni Schneider. Schneider took all seven slaloms of the 1988-'89 season, plus the first slalom of the 1989-'90 season.

"I don't care so much about these statistics," Kostelic said last week. "I have reached much more than expected and I only want to remain healthy this winter. It will be an exciting weekend for me even if I don't win that slalom."

Janica has not forgotten that she was lying in a hospital bed a year ago after her terrible crash while training in downhill at St Moritz.

Despite her strong lead in the slalom standings, the Croatian teenager doesn't want to think about her strong chance at winning her first Crystal Globe in March. "I prefer to focus on each race and enjoy any given moment," she said after her fifth season victory at Semmering.

Switzerland's Sonja Nef has different objectives in mind. She is definitely aiming to win her fourth giant slalom of the season here in Maribor, where she has thrice finished 2nd. "It's about time to win that important race," she said last weekend. Another success would bring her a step closer to victory in the overall giant slalom World Cup, her main goal this season.

America's Sarah Schleper also has good memories of Maribor where she had her first top-10 finish last winter. After taking 2nd in slalom at Sestriere and 3rd in GS at Semmering, the skier from Vail seems is more than ready for her very first victory.

And American Kristina Koznick is also in great shape in the slalom. It was really just bad luck that prevented her from reaching the podium at Semmering. She lost a ski in the second run after hitting a slalom gate. Twice 3rd in recent months, Koznick is eager to get a fifth win in World Cup slalom.

Unlike the women, the men had a two-week Christmas and New Year break because of the cancellation of the downhill race in Bormio. They are competing this weekend in a slalom and a giant slalom at Les Arcs . These will be the first World Cup events hosted by this French ski resort that became well known in 1992, when it staged the demonstration speed competitions of the Olympic Games.

— Patrick Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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