SOELDEN, Austria, 26 October 2003 — Germany’s Martina Ertl opened her 13th season on the Alpine ski World Cup in style yesterday, winning the women’s giant slalom for her first victory in three years.
The German all-rounder, whose last win also came on this toughest of giant slalom courses, stormed down the sun-drenched Rettenbach glacier in a combined two-leg time of two minutes 31.86 seconds for her 14th World Cup victory.
Race favorite and World Cup champion Anja Paerson of Sweden charged into second place in 2:32.06 while first-leg leader Maria Jose Rienda Contreras finished third.
Rienda Contreras just missed out on becoming the first Spanish woman in 12 years to win a World Cup event but had the satisfaction of celebrating her first appearance on the podium.
Slovenia’s Tina Maze, who shared victory with Austria’s Nicole Hosp and Norwegian Andrine Flemmen here last year, was fourth, in 2:33.35.
Hosp crashed out in the first leg, damaging ligaments, but team officials said the injury was not serious.
The 30-year-old Ertl, who has now notched up 10 World Cup giant slalom and 14 overall race victories, said winning the season-opening event was one of the highlights of her long career.
“I didn’t qualify for the second round last year and now I come back and win it,” the German said. “Just incredible.”
“I’ve gone through many ups and downs due to injuries so this really is one of my best victories,” she added.
Since her 2001 Soelden win, the German, famous for her grit and determination, has suffered three knee injuries that kept her out of competition.
Ertl, overall World Cup runner-up in 1996 and 1998, said the prospect of possibly clinching the crown for the first time this year was not an issue for her.
“For that you’ve got to be fit all season. Three years ago I was leading in the standings and then got injured so I’m not going to start speculating about it now,” she said.
Paerson, the giant slalom world champion, said she was nervous going into the race due to the high expectations her success had spawned.
“A lot of people have been putting pressure on me as well as myself. But a top-three placing is an excellent start to the season,” said the Swede, who won three giant slaloms last season.
The women’s World Cup takes a break after Soelden for more than a month before the North American stage of the circuit begins in Park City, Utah, on Nov. 28.
The women return to Europe in mid-December for the remainder of the season which ends with the finals in Sestriere, Italy, in March. The men’s season also begins with a giant slalom here today.
The thousands of Austrian fans on the hill yesterday had little cause to cheer after none of their racers made the podium for the first time in three years.
Alexandra Meissnitzer was the highest finisher in eighth place, while 2002 Soelden champion Michaela Dorfmeister ended a lowly 27th. The season started without Olympic champion Janica Kostelic of Croatia, who is recovering after the latest in a series of knee operations and is not expected to return to competition until December.
Larsson, Paruzzi Win World Cup Sprints
In Dusseldorf, Peter Larsson of Sweden won like last year while Italy’s Gabriella Paruzzi won the women’s edition in the cross country skiing World Cup season-opening sprint races.
Larsson powered to victory over the 1.5-kilometers distance, beating the 50km world champion Martin Koukal of the Czech Republic and sprint world champion Thobias Fredriksson.
Paruzzi won the women’s race ahead of Russians Alena Sidko and Evgenia Hahina.
The sprints took place in the city center of Dusseldorf on the banks of the River Rhine on artificial snow in front of a massive crowd, a unique setting for cross-country skiing.
