Lindsey Vonn is in a groove.
Vonn made the podium for the seventh time this season, finishing second in the super-G in Tarvisio, Italy, on Sunday, Jan. 18. The 41-year-old has made the podium in all but one race this season.
Vonn is now in second place in the season super-G standings, 10 points behind good friend Sofia Goggia. Vonn leads the downhill standings, and is fourth in the overall race.
There are two more speed races, a downhill Jan. 30 and a super-G on Jan. 31, before the Milano Cortina Olympics. The women’s Alpine competition begins Feb. 8 with the downhill.
‘I was skiing better this summer in super-G than downhill. I was hoping super-G would have been better from the start, but I was a little bit inconsistent and a little bit conservative in my skiing,’ Vonn said. ‘If I can fight for the globe in super-G as well, that would be amazing. I feel really confident in downhill, but super-G could be a little better, so today was a good step in the right direction and gives me confidence going to Cortina.’
Vonn is one of the few skiers who was competing when the World Cup was last in Tarvisio 15 years ago, with two super-G wins here. But she dismissed the idea that gave her an advantage, saying after Saturday’s downhill that she didn’t remember the course.
What does give Vonn an advantage is that she’s really fast. And consistent. She has made the podium in her last five races, and the question now is not so much if she’ll be on the podium but in what place.
On Sunday, Vonn had a slight edge on Emma Aicher going into the last section of the course. But Vonn said she took a line that wound up not being the fastest, and she couldn’t match the furious push the German had made at the bottom of the course.
Vonn’s time of 1:14.31 was 0.27 seconds behind Aicher, who looked relieved to still be in first after Vonn crossed the finish line.
‘I’m a little disappointed in the way I skied the bottom,’ Vonn said. ‘In general, I’m happy with my skiing.’
It was a good day for the rest of the U.S. team, too. Keely Cashman was fifth, a career best, and four other women were in the top 30. Jackie Wiles and Allison Mollin were 19th and 20th, respectively, Breezy Johnson was 25th and Haley Cutler was 27th.
‘Lindsey gave me a great report and my coaches and I had a really good plan so I did my best to execute the plan the best I could,’ Cashman said. ‘I’m super happy with this result building into the Olympics and eager for more.’