Putzer posts surprise giant slalom victory Updated 1/21/2007 2:53 PM ET

Skiing through heavy fog, Putzer led both runs and compiled a two-run time of 2 minutes, 46.93 seconds on the Olympia delle Tofane course.

It was Putzer’s first win since a GS in Lillehammer three years ago, the same year she finished second in the overall standings.

Putzer struggled with a bad hip the past three seasons before having surgery in May.

"After the first run, I said to myself ‘Who knows what will happen?’," Putzer said. "It seems unreal."

Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso finished second, 0.04 seconds behind, for her fifth straight podium finish.

Putzer was operated on by the same New York surgeon who repaired Mancuso’s hip a month earlier.

Mancuso gained points on the two women ahead of her in the overall standings — Marlies Schild and Nicole Hosp — who both failed to finish.

Schild leads the standings with 881 points, Hosp has 828 and Mancuso now has 794.

Denise Karbon of Italy was third, 0.28 behind, for her best result in three seasons.

Several skiers struggled with the thick fog hanging over the course.

Schild skied off course midway through her second run and Hosp bloodied her chin when she fell in the opening leg.

"I got on the inside ski and I fell down. I’m happy that I’m well," Hosp said.

Hosp still leads the GS standings with 230 points. Tanja Poutiainen, who finished fifth, moved into second with 214 points. Kathrin Zettel finished a distant 25th and dropped down to third in the standings with 206 points. Mancuso is fourth with 166 points.

Anja Paerson missed a gate midway through the first run. The two-time overall World Cup champion has struggled this season following knee surgery. She hasn’t won since the final downhill last season in Are, the Swedish resort that will host the World Championships Feb. 3-18.

"I had some new skis and I was really aggressive and I couldn’t really be comfortable," Paerson said. "You don’t see anything. That’s why it’s a lot of crashes. It’s really hard to find the timing with the gates."

Paerson planned to fly home to Sweden later Sunday to prepare for the worlds, meaning she will skip three races in San Sicario next weekend.

Sydney Morning Herald

American ski racer Julia Mancuso’s superb season continued on Friday when she beat the Austrian favourites to win a rain-delayed World Cup super-G race. Coming into this season, Mancuso, 22, had never won a World Cup race though she was Olympic champion in giant slalom. In the space of a month, she has now won three races and had two other podium places. Mancuso clocked one minute 16.25 seconds on the Olympia delle Tofane course, 0.33 seconds ahead of Austrian Nicole Hosp. Former overall World Cup champion Renate Goetschl, who had won the first two super-G races of the season, had to settle for third place, just 0.01 seconds behind Hosp. Their team mate Marlies Schild lost the opportunity to extend her overall World Cup lead when she missed a gate near the top of the course. Mancuso’s team mate Lindsey Kildow, who shared the podium with her friend in last weekend’s Altenmarkt super-combined event, finished just 0.05 seconds behind Goetschl, in joint fourth place with another Austrian, Andrea Fischbacher. The race was delayed for three-and-a-half hours while course workers used chemicals to firm up the piste after heavy rain early in the day. World champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, who has struggled since knee surgery at the end of last season, was sixth, with 1:16.95. Schild held on to the overall lead despite her exit but Hosp moved up to 60 points behind her compatriot on 828. Mancuso jumped into third place, with 634. Goetschl still has a comfortable lead in the super-G standings, 64 points ahead of Hosp. Cortina is due to host a women’s downhill on Saturday and a giant slalom on Sunday.

Alpine skiing-Mancuso wins World Cup super-G

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – American ski racer Julia Mancuso’s superb season continued on Friday when she beat the Austrian favourites to win a rain-delayed World Cup super-G race.Coming into this season, Mancuso, 22, had never won a World Cup race though she was Olympic champion in giant slalom. In the space of a month, she has now won three races and had two other podium places. Mancuso clocked one minute 16.25 seconds on the Olympia delle Tofane course, 0.33 seconds ahead of Austrian Nicole Hosp. Former overall World Cup champion Renate Goetschl, who had won the first two super-G races of the season, had to settle for third place on a deteriorating course, just 0.01 seconds behind Hosp. Their team mate Marlies Schild lost the opportunity to extend her overall World Cup lead when she missed a gate near the top of the course. Mancuso’s compatriot Lindsey Kildow, who shared the podium with her friend in last weekend’s Altenmarkt super-combined event, finished just 0.05 seconds behind Goetschl, in joint fourth place with another Austrian, Andrea Fischbacher. The race was delayed for three-and-a-half hours while course workers used chemicals to firm up the piste after heavy rain early in the day. World champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, who has struggled since knee surgery at the end of last season, was sixth, with 1:16.95. MORE CONFIDENT Mancuso, a former junior world champion in super-G, was second in Cortina last year but had struggled in the discipline this season with 18th place in Reiteralm and 35th in Lake Louise. “I am very excited about this victory,” the American told reporters. “I knew that I had a chance today even though my super-G has been a bit questionable. “Every race is getting better and better and I am getting much more confident on my skis,” added Mancuso, who won the Val d’Isere downhill exactly a month ago. Hosp, originally a technical specialist, began skiing super-G only a year ago and has now had top-seven results in all three races this season. “It is really great what is happening to me this year in super-G,” said Hosp, 23, adding that she hoped her results would impress the Austrian selectors for next month’s world championships in Are, Sweden. “There is always a big fight for places in my team,” said Hosp, who will skip Saturday’s downhill here to train for the giant slalom on Sunday. Goetschl, 31, said the soft snow had made conditions difficult. “It is just not easy when you have a slope in such bad shape,” she said. “You don’t really know what you can do on it. I just hope that the weather is going to be much better tomorrow and then we will have fairer conditions.” Schild held on to the overall lead with 881 points despite her exit but Hosp narrowed the gap and now has 828. Mancuso jumped into third place, with 634. Goetschl still leads the super-G standings, 64 points ahead of Hosp.