Mancuso sets downhill mark too fast for followers

AMERICAN Julia Mancuso pulled off her first World Cup win when she dominated a top-class field in the first of two successive Val d’Isere downhills in France.

The 22-year-old reigning Olympic giant slalom champion clocked 1min 38.93sec, 00.43sec ahead of veteran Austrian Renate Goetschl and 00.54sec clear of another American, Lindsey Kildow on Tuesday.Mancuso went out early to set the best time on the shortened men’s course and sat back to watch the women who had gone faster than her in training attack her mark.

None of them succeeded and Mancuso celebrated her first World Cup win, confirming the potential she showed by finishing second at Cortina d’Ampezzo back in January. “I knew I had skied well but didn’t expect to end up as the winner,” Mancuso said. “It was a nervous wait for me watching the others going down.” Kildow’s third place allowed her to maintain the overall lead. A second women’s World Cup downhill will be held at Val d’Isere today.