Lindsey Vonn fails to qualify for 2nd GS run at Aspen; Germany’s Hoelzl leads after 1st run

Vonn fails to qualify for 2nd GS run at Aspen

ASPEN, Colo. — Lindsey Vonn managed to chuckle after her right ski hit a rock and she failed to qualify for the second run of a World Cup giant slalom Saturday.

“I was just trying to make it down, and I was, like, laughing at myself,” Vonn said, “because I knew how big of a tool I looked like.”

The two-time overall World Cup champion from Vail, Colo., never has earned a podium finish in a giant slalom and things went awry during Saturday’s first run. Vonn wobbled a bit after knocking the rock on the top half of the course and found her right ski sliding.

She finished in 1 minute, 8.33 seconds, more than 4½ seconds behind first-round leader Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany.

“I just went onto my right ski and there was nothing. I spun out on the flats — that doesn’t normally happen,” Vonn said. “I knew right then and there. I was like, ‘Oh, God, just from here on out, just make it down.’ And that’s all I was trying to do.”

Vonn’s time put her 39th among 53 women who finished. The top 30 qualified for the second run later Saturday.

Hoelzl finished in 1:03.70. Kathrin Zettel of Austria was second after the opening run, followed by Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden.

Reigning Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., was 10th in 1:05.51.

“There’s definitely a few rocks in the ice,” Mancuso said. “I guess it’s all about luck.”

Other racers described the course as icy and talked about bouncing around on the slopes.

Tanja Poutiainen of Finland was 18th after the first run. She won the season’s first World Cup giant slalom — edging second-place Zettel at Soelden, Austria, last month — but had complained of a bad back heading into Aspen, the first North American stop on the circuit.

Vonn finished fourth in the giant slalom at Aspen last year, and she’s never fared better in this discipline.

She gets another chance to perform in front of her large contingent of local supporters in Sunday’s slalom. Vonn was the runner-up to Maria Riesch of Germany in the season’s first World Cup slalom at Levi, Finland, two weeks ago.

“Aspen is the toughest place for me. It’s got so much terrain. It’s like sheer pond ice,” Vonn said. “Hopefully tomorrow goes better.”