ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (Jan. 17) - Reigning World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) picked up the second super combined win of her career after taking charge of a World Cup in Zauchensee Saturday. It was her 16th career win and third this season on the FIS Audi World Cup.


Lindsey Vonn charges the course on her way to a win in Zauchensee. (Getty Images/AFP-Samuel Kubani)

"Today was a great way to get back in the speed events," Vonn said. "I skied well today except for one mistake and this is a good way to start the speed block and it gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow."

"This was a huge one because we haven't done any speed events in a while," said Women's Speed Head Coach Alex Hoedlmoser. "This combined is setting the pace for the rest of the season on the speed side. Winning it puts her closer to the overall."

The win vaulted Vonn to second in the overall standings, a mere 13 points behind best friend Maria Riesch of Germany who went out in the slalom.

"Unfortunately Maria didn't finish. She's my best friend and I am really sorry for that," Vonn said.

In the downhill, Vonn flew about 10 meters farther than expected off the Hot Air jump and nearly crashed, but recovered to finish fourth before the slalom.

"It was tough. I was a little bit on my left ski and my body got twisted. I landed pretty much on my hip and I lost all my speed in the flats," Vonn said. "There was a section on the bottom where I was able to make up about a second, so I was pretty lucky to be able to still be in there after the downhill."

Following her close call in the downhill, Vonn had a plan for the slalom - ski smart.

"The course for the slalom was a little bit chopped up so I knew I couldn't go in a straight line and I had to be a little bit cautious. But I kept fighting and it paid off," Vonn said. She skied the third fastest slalom.

Vonn's win marked the second super combined victory for U.S. women in  Zauchensee, as well as her third win in as many disciplines this season. But, for Vonn, it's just good to be back in the speed events.

"It's really good to be back in speed. It's been a very long technical block," Vonn said. "I was for sure a little bit rusty in the first training run, but I was able to get right back into it and was feeling at home in the downhill."

Vonn's win led the way for three other U.S. athletes to finish in the points. Leanne Smith (Conway, NH), Stacey Cook (Mammoth, CA) and Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, VT) finished 24th, 25th and 26th, respectively.

"They did a really good job in the downhill portion. It was really good training for them for tomorrow's downhill," said Hoedlmoser. "They still had some mistakes, but they were charging it. I was pretty pleased with their performance."

The Team now looks ahead to the downhill on Sunday, and Vonn, who won the only downhill to be held so far this season, is gunning for another win.

"I definitely am hoping to win tomorrow, but I need to have a good run," Vonn said. "There's a lot of girls who are fast at the moment and it's definitely not going to be easy. But, I am going to fight the whole way and hopefully I'll have a clean run. I hope this year downhill can go as well as last year."

The women's downhill will air live on UniversalSports.com starting at 5:15 a.m. ET.


Lindsey Vonn celebrates her third win of the season in Zauchensee. (Getty Images/AFP)

Multimedia:
For photos, audio and video from Austria click here.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 AUDI FIS WORLD CUP
Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria - Jan. 17, 2009
Super Combined (downhill/slalom)

1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 2:40.53
2. Kathrin Zettel, Austria, 2:40.83
3. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 2:41.19
4. Michaela Kirchgasser, Austria, 2:41.83
5. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 2:41.86
-
24. Leanne Smith, Conway, NH, 2:46.18
25. Stacey Cook, Mammoth, CA, 2:46.36
26. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, VT, 2:46.51
-
DNF1: Keely Kelleher, Big Sky, MT
DNF2: Kaylin Richardson, Edina, MN
# # #

For complete results click here.