Reuters/Maribor, Slovenia


Austrian world champion Anna Fenninger claimed her second World Cup giant slalom win of the season and closed the gap on overall leader Tina Maze by taking victory in Maribor yesterday.
Fenninger perfectly controlled her two runs on the Slovenian course to triumph in a combined time of two minutes and 24.50 seconds but it was a close call as she led last weekend’s silver-medallist Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany by 0.04 seconds.
Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather finished a further 0.30 seconds behind in third.
“I really needed that extra gear in the final part because I was not going fast at all in the middle section,” Fenninger, who had only clinched the season opener in Soelden prior to her giant slalom and Super-G titles in Beaver Creek, told reporters.
Local favourite Maze and American Lindsey Vonn crashed out in the morning run.
Vonn, the most successful woman skier of all-time, lay on the snow for a while, raising fears that she might be in trouble but the US Ski Team later said she was alright.
Maze’s crash was significant in the overall standings as Fenninger is now only 84 points behind.
“My schedule is heavy and I didn’t have time to rest since the world champs. I’m exhausted,” said the Slovenian, the only skier taking part in all alpine disciplines in the World Cup. Maze, who won the super-combined and downhill titles at Beaver Creek, cannot afford to miss out on today’s slalom at home to keep defending champ Fenninger at bay.


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