GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Jan. 30) - The U.S. Ski Team's Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) came from third in the first run to dominate the finals, winning by nearly a second over Germany's Maria Riesch during an Audi FIS World Cup Friday.

"To win today was incredible, it was perfect," Vonn said. "I still feel like I have a lot of energy left. I'm surprised I did well today because I only had one day of training since the last race in Zauchensee."

The win marked Vonn's 17th career win, and puts her one away from tying Tamara McKinney's record for all time victories. Coming off her slalom win, Vonn was just happy to be able to put the hammer down.

"Today was an amazing day. I was pretty happy with my first run and in the second run Maria was winning so I had to really attack," Vonn said. "Even in those conditions I still thought I had a pretty good run. I was just fighting all day."

With the win, Vonn extended her lead in the World Cup overall, topping Riesch by 124 and creeping up on the slalom, which she now trails by 140.

According to Tech Head Coach Trevor Wagner, Vonn succeeded by skiing with her head.

"Second run she skied the top smart and then figured out where she could punch it. Some people went out and she capitalized on it, Wagner said.

Also adding to the excitement in Garmisch was the return of Resi Stiegler (Jackson Hole, WY), who foreran the race after coming back from an injury.

Now, Vonn hopes to finish the weekend out strong before turning her focus to World Championships, where she hopes to upgrade from her two silvers in 2007 to a gold.

"I feel like I have a lot of confidence going in to World Championships," Vonn said. "I'm looking forward to World Championships. It's a pretty tough schedule of nine days in a row. I think for me the main thing is to try and stay as fresh as I can and just keep riding every day."

According to Wagner, Vonn is looking fit and is determined to succeed.

"She's looking great. She's got a good slalom now and she's healthy and she's hungry, she wants more," Wagner said. "She wants the win and she's the one that's making people turn their heads."

The men's and women's alpine Teams compete again in Garmisch with the men racing downhill and the women racing super G on Saturday.

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

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2009 AUDI FIS WORLD CUP
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany - Jan. 30, 2009
Slalom

1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:47.17
2. Maria Riesch, Germany, 1:48.07
3. Marusa Ferk, Slovenia, 1:48.33
4. Ana Jelusic, Croatia, 1:48.36
5. Sarka Zahrobska, Czech Republic, 1:48.38
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27. Hailey Duke, Boise, ID, 2:00.18
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DNQ1: Kaylin Richardson (Edina, MN), Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO)
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For complete results click here.