Marie-Michele Gagnon 8th in World Cup Slalom race
Austria's Nicole Hosp takes top spot
Nicole Hosp of Austria turned in a powerful final run Sunday for her first World Cup victory since 2008.
Hosp was nearly a second back after the first run, but glided through the deteriorating course in a time of one minute 44.90 seconds. She held off Frida Hansdotter of Sweden by 0.19 seconds. Kathrin Zettel of Austria was third for her 10th podium finish at Aspen.
"This victory feels like my first victory," said Hosp, who suffered a serious knee injury a few years ago and retired the giant slalom from her repertoire. "I'm happy that I'm back."
Gagnon was Canada's top performer
Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., finished eighth overall with a time of 1:46.28.
It was quite a weekend for the first country of ski racing. Austrians Eva-Maria Brem and Zettel went 1-2 in the giant slalom on Saturday. Then, Hosp rose to the occasion on a bumpy and rugged course. So did Zettel — again, which really is no surprise since she always performs well at Aspen. She wishes every race could be held at this venue because it has "perfect conditions" and is "lovely for me."
This was Hosp's first World Cup victory since Jan. 13, 2008, in a slalom race at Maribor, Slovenia. Her first World Cup win was in 2002.
Since then, she's dealt with injuries, captured three Olympic medals — including a silver and bronze in Sochi — and won the 2007 overall World Cup title.
The surprise of the day was the performance of American Resi Stiegler, who came in 11th. Stiegler has been contending with injuries the last few seasons.
"I'm pleased with Resi. I think it's a matter of time when she's going to be in top-five and on the podium again," U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml said.