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Austrian duel Dorfmeister and Goetschl seek overall lead
Posted: Monday December 27, 1999 06:54 PM
LIENZ, Austria (Reuters) -- Austrians Michaela Dorfmeister and Renate Goetschl both nourish hopes of entering the new century top of the women's overall World Cup after performing on home snow for the first time this winter. Dorfmeister and Goetschl are respectively just 28 and 31 points behind Isolde Kostner in the standings and have good chances of overtaking the Italian speed specialist in giant slalom and slalom races on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the men's circuit, Hermann Maier enters the new millennium as overall leader ahead of fellow Austrians Stephan Eberharter and Andreas Schifferer. Dorfmeister will aim on Tuesday for her third successive giant slalom win after Serre Chevalier and Val d'Isere earlier this month. Dorfmeister, 1999 world championship downhill silver and super-g bronze medallist, has emerged as a force in the technical races only this season. She will even compete in her weakest slalom discipline on Wednesday to achieve her goal. All-rounder Goetschl, reigning downhill world champion, has better chances in slalom than Dorfmeister. She was second after the first leg in Sestriere before skiing out in the second run. Austrian coach Mathias Berthold said his skiers had not lost form for the giant slalom even though the last World Cup race in the discipline was staged nearly three weeks ago. Goetschl and Dorfmeister both said they regretted that many of their top rivals were missing because of injuries, including compatriot Alexandra Meissnitzer, the World Cup champion. Organisers at this eastern Tyrolean venue hope their races will not be marred by accidents. Four women -- Croatia's Janica Kostelic, Norway's Kristine Kristiansen, Switzerland's Sylviane Berthod and Austria's Silvia Berger -- crashed before or during downhill and super-g races at St Moritz earlier this month and will miss the rest of the season. Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg has chosen not to race in Lienz because of a knee injury sustained in the St Moritz downhill, which she won despite pain. Austrian Alpine director Hans Pum disagreed with critics who blamed the injuries on the new equipment but conceded that discussion was necessary. "There will always be phases when more than one injury occurs on a single day," Pum said. Other women to watch on the unusually narrow and tight giant slalom course at Lienz, which many believe will profit veterans, are Austria's Anita Wachter, Switzerland's Sonja Nef and France's Regine Cavagnoud. In the slalom, France's Christel Saioni and Slovenia's Spela Pretnar, who shared victory in the first slalom of the season at Copper Mountain in November, will be looking to fill the gap left by Kostelic, who won this month in Serre Chevalier and Sestriere.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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