Hosp leads World Cup super-combined after 1st run

ERIC WILLEMSEN
Austria's Nicole Hosp reacts after completing an alpine ski World Cup women's downhill, in Altenmarkt Zauchensee, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 11 , 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) — Nicole Hosp of Austria posted the fastest time in the super-G portion of a women's World Cup super-combined event on Sunday.

Hosp timed 1 minute, 13.14 seconds on the Kaelberloch course to lead Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein by 0.39 seconds. Anna Fenninger of Austria was third and had 0.59 to make up in the slalom run later.

"I wasn't clean in the upper part," Hosp said. "After the Panorama curve I was spot on."

The Panorama is a sharp right turn about 40 seconds into a run that caused many racers problems. Going into the curve with too much speed made it difficult to make the next gate.

Most of the 19 starters that failed to finish the super-G went out there — including American Julia Mancuso, who won the super-combined in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee in 2007.

Defending overall champion Tina Maze of Slovenia was 0.77 behind Hosp, Lara Gut of Switzerland trailed by 0.87, and Olympic and world super-combined champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany was 0.92 back.

As Weirather and Fenninger are not slalom specialists, Hosp's closest challengers were expected to be Maze and Hoefl-Riesch. Hosp won the 2007 overall title but the last of her 11 career victories came in a slalom in Maribor, Slovenia, six years ago.

Lindsey Vonn, who has a record 12 podium finishes in super-combined, is out for the season because of a right knee injury.

Austria hasn't won a women's World Cup super-combined event since 2007. On Saturday, the Austrian women ended a two-year draught in downhill when Elisabeth Goergl won.

It's the first super-combined event of the season and the only one before the Sochi Olympics next month.