ARE, Sweden The U.S. Ski Team's Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) was eighth Sunday in an Audi FIS World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden. France's Sabrine Aubert put down the fastest second run to take the win over the Riesch sisters of Germany, with Maria second and Susanne third for her first World Cup podium.
"Today I think was a solid result. It definitely wasn't my best skiing, but it was solid," Vonn said. "But I'm happy to make it to the finish, especially after Aspen, to get a solid race under my belt."
Vonn was sitting with an eighth from her first run and, as the fog settled over the course in the second run, she entered the start house almost two seconds behind the leader. According to the World Champion, the fog in combination with course wear and tear made it difficult to make up time.
"It was tough conditions, especially in the second run. The course conditions broke down and it was also really foggy so it made it tough to ski aggressively," Vonn said. "It was really foggy and it made it especially difficult because there were some pretty good ruts developing and you didn't know when you were going to hit it and where you were going to hit it."
Women's Tech Coach Trevor Wagner said that Vonn could have been a little faster in the first run, but changes in the weather for second run made making up time nearly impossible.
"First run wasn't on the edge of the speed she can go. The second run she risked where she could risk, but it got more into the fog and she couldn't let it go too much," Wagner said. "The second run, the fog was really thick. It started toward the bottom and just gradually moved up. It was pretty much top to bottom with little pockets of open space."
One other U.S. woman turned it around for the second run as Hailey Duke (Boise, ID) raced to 27th for a spot in the points.
Now with the Are series behind her, Vonn is looking forward to traveling to Val d'Isere to garner what she hopes will be more successes in the speed disciplines.
"I'm really excited about some more speed races. Speed has been going really well for me, so hopefully I'll get to have another good race." Vonn said.
Look for the skiwear fashionista to appease onlookers in France as she debuts another custom Spyder race suit for the races.
"I will be wearing a new suit in Val d'Isere. I haven't decided which one yet, but you'll see it in a couple days," Vonn said.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
2010 AUDI FIS ALPINE WORLD CUP
Are, Sweden – Dec. 13, 2009
Women’s Slalom
1. Sandrine Aubert, France, 1:43.24
2. Maria Riesch, Germany, 1:43.69
3. Susanne Riesch, Germany, 1:44.20
4. Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 1:44.62
4. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 1:44.62
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8. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:45.37
27. Hailey Duke, Boise, ID, 1:48.80
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DNQ1: Sarah Schleper, Vail, CO; Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA
DNF1: Kaylin Richardson, Edina, MN; Sterling Grant, Amery, WA
