BERLIN, Dec. 21 (dpa/EP) –
The American Lindsey Vonn returned this Saturday to the Alpine Skiing World Cup after almost six years retired, and she did so with a fourteenth place in the super-G in St. Moritz (Switzerland) during a test won by the Austrian Cornelia Hütter .
Vonn, 40, fell behind early and made a small mistake in the central part of the sun-drenched Swiss course, but smiled widely as she crossed the finish line, pumping her fists and waving to applause from fans and others. skiers.
After a career plagued by injuries, Vonn originally retired in February 2019 after a then-women’s record of 82 World Cup race victories, along with an Olympic gold and two world titles to her credit.
Although she’s back after partial knee replacement surgery in April, she looked like she wasn’t skiing at 100% in her first World Cup race, which came after four lower-level events and a trailblazer last weekend. of the women’s World Cup races in Beaver Creek (Colorado, USA).
Vonn finished in St. Moritz 1.18 seconds behind Hütter, who achieved her second victory this season and eighth overall, and 0.18 seconds behind Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, Olympic champion also in super-G. The Italian Sofia Goggia, who had won the first race of the discipline in Beaver Creek, completed this podium in St. Moritz with her third position and having been 0.33 from the head.
“Today was a perfect start. I ran a solid race and made it to the finish line,” Vonn told reporters. “The first one is the hardest. I felt very good. The course was a little bumpy when I started, so in some sections I was a little more conservative with my lines. But in some sections I was very fast,” she added.
“I definitely have a lot left to give, I just wanted to get to the finish line today and be solid,” said the veteran skier, who also admitted to some pre-race nerves due to a long absence since her last World Cup race in January. of 2019.
“I was a little stressed, I was a little late. I forgot a couple of things. It was hectic, I just hadn’t done it in a while. But it was nice to feel the nerves again,” she confessed. “It’s very good to have nerves, to have butterflies, the adrenaline of trying hard. I always feel like it’s me against the mountain. I love that feeling,” he added.
“Tomorrow will be better, now that I’m used to it,” Vonn concluded, referring to a second supergiant scheduled for this same Sunday and also at the St. Moritz station.