Kummer wins giant slalom

LIENZ, Austria (AP) -- Switzerland's Lillian Kummer recorded her first World Cup victory Friday, winning a women's giant slalom with an excellent second run.

Kummer, second after the first run, finished in a combined time of 2 minutes 12.06 seconds, stealing the limelight from her teammate Sonja Nef, world giant slalom champion, who skied out in the first leg.

"I surprised myself," the breathless and beaming Kummer said in the finish area.

Italy's Karen Putzer was second in 2:12.09 and Ylva Nowen and Anja Paerson of Sweden tied for third in 2:12.14.

Kummer went into the second run trailing first leg leader Andrine Flemmen of Norway by 0.46 seconds.

Flemmen held the advantage until the bottom section but then lost the momentum and finished a distant 16. Kummer, by contrast, was very fast over the bottom part of the slope.

In the first run, a sharply set gate on a key section going into the middle of the course tripped up many of the race favorites including Nef, the leader in the giant slalom standings, and overall World Cup leader Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister, who finished but did not qualify for the second leg.

Dorfmeister said the visibility was very difficult in parts of the course as some parts of the mountain were in sunlight and others in what racers call flat light, which makes it difficult to distinguish waves and uneven patches on the surface of the snow.

Other top racers who failed to finish the first leg were Alison Forsyth of Canada, Marie Jose Rienda Contreras of Spain, Finland's Manja Poutiainen and Alexander Meissnitzer of Austria.

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