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'It feels great' Schifferer steals show in World Cup downhill
Posted: Saturday December 18, 1999 04:43 PM
VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) -- The name may not have been Hermann Maier, but the colors were still Austrian. Andreas Schifferer overshadowed his more famous teammate Saturday, winning a World Cup downhill by just over a tenth of a second. Maier, the overall, downhill and super-giant slalom World Cup leader, had to settle for third behind Friday's downhill winner, Kristian Ghedina of Italy. "It feels great to be ahead of Maier," Schifferer said after finishing in 2 minutes, 4.78 seconds. It was Schifferer's first World Cup victory of the season and eighth of his career, all but one of them in the downhill. For Austria, it was the seventh victory in 10 events this year, with Schifferer and Hannes Trinkl adding to Maier's quintet. In Friday's race on the same fast, bumpy Saslong course, Ghedina won by 1.35 seconds to earn his 11th career victory. "I got a bit scared today when I flew off the camel bumps," Ghedina said. "I lost my concentration and slowed down some. "But I gave myself a great Christmas present: a first and second place in Val Gardena." For Maier, a five-time winner already this season, the third place was another disappointment. On Friday, he finished sixth, his worst result of the season. "Next year I will win," Maier vowed after finishing in 2:05.00, .22 behind Schifferer. "Now I know the track better so I can go faster next time." The result, however, boosted his overall point total to 680, increasing his lead from 195 points to 240 over teammate Stephan Eberharter. His downhill lead slipped to eight points over Ghedina. Defending overall champion Lasse Kjus of Norway, who is ill with the flu and did not compete in either downhill, fell further behind with only 146 points, 13th in the overall standings. After abundant sunshine Friday, it was overcast with poor visibility Saturday. Several skiers, including Ghedina, said the bad light made it difficult to be aggressive. Maier and Schifferer described the course as "very dangerous." Schifferer's winning time was two seconds slower than Friday's, a sign skiers were a bit more cautious. The men's tour moves to nearby Alta Badia Sunday for a World Cup giant slalom. Maier is favored again, having won the two races disputed this season in the discipline.
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