Defending overall FIS World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn didn't need long to achieve her usual successful start in downhill at Lake Louise where she celebrated her very first World Cup win five years ago.

The 25-year-old from Minnesota now living at Vail, Colorado, clearly clocked the fastest time in the second training run on the perfectly prepared ‘Men's Olympic Downhill Run' beating by 40/100 of a second her closest rival, Austria's Maria Holaus.

Vonn, the most successful female US skier on the World Cup tour with a total of 22 wins, was at first surprised by her performance as she stood up in the final gliding section prior to the finish line, which certainly cost her a few tenths of a second.

"It's great news, I didn't really expect it as I was foremost focusing on finding a good line in the middle, the technically more demanding section," she said afterwards. "It's just a perfect day for skiing fast: the snow is harder and the course more challenging than yesterday. I feel extremely confident here, I have been coming to Lake Louise for many years. I like this course which perfectly suits my style."

"It's possible for me to ski faster, I'm confident that I still have a faster pair of racing skis and a more efficient ski suit. I hope the course will get harder and more demanding. The rougher it is, the better it is for me."

"I'm very happy to get back on my downhill skis especially after my last disappointing slalom at Aspen. I have been missing the speed a lot in the past weeks and I have a huge smile on my face since coming here. Lake Louise is just a great place where I feel very comfortable."

"I am very familiar with this slope and I know what I have to do in each section of the course. Being so successful in the past also helped me build up huge self-confidence. At the end of the summer, I can't wait to be here at the start of this downhill."

A five-time winner at Lake Louise since December 2004, Lindsey is now aiming for a sixth triumph - maybe even more. "I would be happy with just one win here, it's important to get the first one under your belt as soon as possible," added the US champion who finished 2nd in the slalom at Levi, Finland, last month. "I don't think about achieving the hat-trick here this weekend even though I also feel strong in super-G," she answered to an Austrian radio reporter wondering about her plans. "So far I never managed to win both downhill races in a row here," she added.

Germany's skiing legend Katja Seizinger, a double Olympic champion in downhill in 1994 and 1998 and a two-time overall World Cup winner in 1996 and 1998 won six races in the Canadian resort during her great years. No one so far has managed to win all three competitions on the same weekend.

Interestingly enough, Vonn is unbeaten in super-G since the end of last January - winning a total of five super-G races in a row including one at the FIS Worlds at Val d'Isère. "I'm always fighting for victory, yet mistakes can always happen, it's part of the game," she commented. "The most important for me is to I know I have done my part in training to be ready for this. I have worked hard since the end of last winter and I'm fully focused."

One of the few skiers having excelled in several disciplines during the same season, Lindsey Vonn is aware of the expectations her fans in Europe and the US are putting on her shoulders looking forward to the Olympic Winter Games. "The Games are of course the highlight of the season but I still wish to do well on the World Cup tour. It's the best way to build up your confidence prior to such a big event. I have often been racing at Whistler Mountain in my junior years and I also reached the podium there two years ago so I feel confident looking forward to that event. I know I have several medal chances. This will help me to better handle the pressure. Since I never got an Olympic medal so far, any one would be nice."

The best US female alpine skier at Salt Lake City in 2002 when she finished 6th in the combined, she suffered a bad crash four years later while training downhill at Sansicario, near Turin. Despite painful bruises and a sore back, she still managed to compete in the speed events, claiming 7th and 8th places in super-G and downhill.

No US women ever clinched gold in downhill at the Olympics and Lindsey Vonn would become a true hero in her country in case she succeeds in her quest for glory at Whistler Mountain in ten weeks. "It would be special for me, mostly because I could strongly contribute to promoting ski racing in the US," she explained. "Skiing is not such an established sport as in Europe. I think I helped a little with my last successes and also this fall when I attended several noted TV shows, yet an Olympic gold medal is what Americans recognize the most in our sport."

"The overall World Cup title eventually means more from an athletic point of view as you have to be so good in so many races during the entire season, but an Olympic title surely is a huge achievement - also because you don't have so many chances in your career."

The count-down has already started for Lindsey Vonn...

Patrick Lang
FISalpine.com
Thursday 3 December 2009