Vonn again second to Goggia on Olympic super-G course

Vail’s Lindsey Vonn once again finished second by mere hundredths of a second on the 2018 Winter Olympic speed-event track Sunday, as Italy’s Sofia Goggia claimed her second career World Cup win in a super-G at Jeongseon, South Korea.

In a repeat of Saturday’s downhill podium, Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec finished third.

Vonn narrowly missed her record-expanding 78th World Cup win on the venue that will be used for next winter’s Olympic Games — finishing second to Goggia by seven-hundredths of a second Saturday and a scant four-hundredths of a second on Sunday.

Still, the 32-year-old ski-racing superstar was pleased with her super-G showing Sunday.

“It’s definitely the best super-G performance I’ve had all season by a long shot, so it’s nice to see that I still have the speed and it’s coming back around,” Vonn said, according to the International Ski Federation. “Definitely frustrated with the amount of time that I’m getting second place by.

“But you know, if I’ve learned one thing in ski racing, it’s that those hundredths always come back and I’m hoping that they come back next year for the Olympics. So I’ll bide my time. I’ll be patient, and everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

Stuhec trimmed the overall World Cup lead of Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin by another 60 points, narrowing the gap to 178 points heading into Friday and Saturday’s giant slalom and slalom races in Squaw Valley, Calif.

Shiffrin attended and trained during the test races in South Korea but did not compete in the speed events. She’ll be a heavy favorite in the Squaw Valley tech races, especially the slalom on Saturday.

Here’s a U.S. Ski Team press release on Sunday’s super-G in South Korea:

Vonn Second Again In Olympic Test Event

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (March 4, 2017) – For the second-straight day, Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) finished second at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup super G test event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

It was déjà vu all over again as Italy’s Sofia Goggia won for the second-straight day, followed by Vonn in second and Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec in third – same podium as Saturday’s downhill. Fresh off the heels of her first World Cup victory Saturday, Goggia’s narrow 0.04-second victory over Vonn was her 11^th podium appearance of the season.

“Today I thought I actually skied really well, maybe too round on the top,” Vonn said. “But especially the middle section, I’m really happy with how I skied. I think I gave away a little time on that last little pitch, I wasn’t quite clean enough and I didn’t carry my speed as well as I could have. But … really easy fixes. The main point of this weekend was (to gain some confidence) on this hill. I really like it. It suits my skiing really well. I know what I can do to be faster.”

Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR), who was fourth in Saturday’s downhill, finished sixth Sunday – her best super G result of the 2017 season.

“I’m feeling pretty good; I’m glad it’s starting to come together” Ross said. “I’m starting to feel a little more confident in super G. It was a fun run on a fun hill and I’m happy with the day. I do feel like I’m an end of season skier, which is kind of annoying, but at least it’s the end of the season so I feel pretty good going into Aspen (World Cup Finals).”

Other U.S. finishers included Alice McKennis (New Castle, CO) in 32^nd, Jackie Wiles (Aurora, OR) 34^th, Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, CA) in 35^th, Anna Marno (Centennial, WY) 39^th and Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID) 42^nd.

A number of U.S. athletes made the long trip to South Korea along with the women’s speed team to get some time on the 2018 Olympic courses. Mikaela Shiffrin, the current World Cup overall leader, trained at the tech venue in YongPyong earlier in the week and inspected the downhill track at Jeongseon before heading back to the United States to prep for next weekend’s World Cup at Squaw Valley, California. Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) and Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, CA) grabbed some time on the speed track, forerunning the women’s downhill and super G events, and will also train with the women for a couple of days before heading back to prep for World Cup Finals in Aspen.

Up next the women head to Squaw Valley March 11-12 for giant slalom and slalom races, the finals tech events before the World Cup finals March 13-19 in Aspen, Colorado. Shiffrin holds a 178-point lead over Stuhec in the overall World Cup standings. The battle for the Crystal Globe in super G will come down to the final super G race in Aspen on March 16 as Stuhec holds a 15-point lead over Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lindsey Vonn finished second for the second-straight day to Italy’s Sofia Goggia in Sunday Audis FIS Ski World Cup super G.
• Goggia’s margin of victory between the two days was a mere .11 seconds.
• Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec was third again for the second-straight day.
• Laurenne Ross, who was fourth in Saturday’s downhill, finished sixth Sunday – her best super G result of the 2017 season.
• Road to Aspen: Mikaela Shiffrin holds a 178-point lead over Stuhec in the overall World Cup standings. The battle for the Crystal Globe in super G will come down to the final super G race in Aspen on March 16 as Stuhec holds a 15-point lead over Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.

QUOTES
Lindsey Vonn
I definitely struggled this season in super G with just a lack of training hasn’t allowed me to be very confident. But I really like this track, and I think I proved that today. Of course I’m disappointed to be a few hundredths from two wins, but I always feel like in skiing the luck will always come back to you. So I’m hoping that next year those hundredths will come back and I can hopefully be on the top f the podium.

Today I thought I actually skied really well, maybe too round on the top. But especially the middle section I’m really happy with how I skied. I think I gave away a little time on that last little pitch, I wasn’t quite clean enough and I didn’t carry my speed as well as I could have. But … really easy fixes. The main point of this weekend was (to gain some confidence) on this hill. I really like it. It suits my skiing really well. I know what I can do to be faster.

Laurenne Ross
I’m feeling pretty good; I’m glad it’s starting to come together. I’m starting to feel a little more confident in super G. It was a fun run on a fun hill and I’m happy with the day. I do feel like I’m an end of season skier, which is kind of annoying, but at least it’s the end of the season so I feel pretty good going into Aspen.

You really can’t make mistakes on this hill. One small mistake and there is no pitch to pick up your speed. You really just have to be on it and just maintain your speed and generate the whole way down.

(The course) is really nice. It runs really well … and speeds were actually feeling similar to what they felt like in downhill.

RESULTS
Women’s super G