Riesch freezes out race favorites
HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria (Reuters) -- German teenager Maria Riesch shut out the favorites to win a downhill race for a maiden World Cup win in only her second season.
The 19-year-old locked into a tight tuck down the Krummholz course, the longest on the women's tour at 3.1 km, to clock a winning time of one minute and 39.30 seconds.
Italian Isolde Kostner looked set for her first win since November 2001 after battling back from injury, but had to settle for second, 0.46 seconds off the pace.
Defending champion Renate Goetschl of Austria was third on 1:39.78.
"I'm so proud I managed to win by such a big advantage rather than by just hundredths of a second as nobody can now say my win was a fluke," Riesch told a news conference.
The race, however, was marred by a high-speed crash by American Kirsten Lee Clark, who careered into the safety netting after landing off-balance from the first jump with her legs ripped apart into the splits.
Clark was airlifted to hospital and diagnosed with a broken right arm and torn cruciate ligaments in her left knee.
Despite Clark and two of her compatriots crashing out, there was some consolation for the American team after rookie Bryna McCarty took a career-best placing in fifth. Her previous best being 26th.
Raw talent
Riesch's sensational win confirms her status as Germany's best hope for an overall World Cup crown since Katja Seizinger's reign of domination in the 1990s.
The self-confessed soap opera addict from Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of only a handful of racers to compete and score in each of Alpine skiing's four disciplines.
"I approached the race pretty relaxed as I've got nothing to lose. I just wanted to make sure I pulled off the kind of run I do in training," Riesch said.
"I felt I could maybe make it into the top five, but that I won it and by such a large margin is a big surprise," she added.
With another two speed races scheduled for Haus over the weekend, Goetschl is well placed to recapture the lead in the overall World Cup standings from Anja Paerson.
The Swede is not able to contest either of the two downhills as she is suffering from a bout of influenza and Goetschl has now closed the gap on her to 45 points.
Rumpfhuber out for season
Austrian skier Ingrid Rumpfhuber will miss thr rest of the season after breaking her leg in a crash during a practice run on Thursday.
"I am quite OK, considering the circumstances. I don't remember much, only that it hurt a lot," the 23-year-old Austrian said.
"But actually, I hoped focusing on my skiing career would help me cope with my family problems."
Following her father's death two years ago, her mother suffered a stroke last summer and only a few days ago, her brother broke his leg.
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