Lindsey Kildow finished her big week in tears.
After finishing second, third and fourth in World Cup races to show she is a contender for the upcoming world championships, the American made a big error midway through her downhill run yesterday and finished 18th in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria won the World Cup downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. American Lindsey Kildow finished a disappointing 18th.
(Stefano Rellandini -- Reuters)
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Kildow, 20, was the only skier faster than the eventual winner, Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria, at each of the first two checkpoints before miscalculating a turn and having her chances of victory disappear in a cloud of snow spray.
"I almost crashed," she said, crying. "Right now, it's depressing."
Kildow's worst downhill result of the season dropped her from second to third in the discipline standings with only two more downhills this season.
Austria's Renate Goetschl, who finished second yesterday and had her three-race winning streak snapped, leads the downhill standings with 435 points. Germany's Hilde Gerg, who was third yesterday, is next with 375, followed by Kildow at 348. Wins are worth 100 points.
"When you know you're most likely not going to be able to regain the points to win the downhill title it's really disappointing," she said. "I worked so hard and I've been skiing well. I'm just still making mistakes. It will come. I learn something every day."
Meantime, in Wengen, Switzerland, Alois Vogl became the first German man to win a World Cup slalom in 14 years, winning on the circuit's toughest course after Italy's Giorgio Rocca was disqualified at the last moment for straddling a gate.
Overall World Cup leader Bode Miller skied out in the second leg on the famed Lauberhorn hill. He was ninth in the opening leg.
Vogl was fourth after the first leg but produced a flawless second run to finish in a combined time of 1 minute 35.38 seconds. Croatia's Ivica Kostelic, struggling with a knee injury from last season, was second in 1:35.59, his first top-three finish since a victory in December 2003.
• MOTORSPORTS: France's Stephane Peterhansel won his second straight Dakar Rally, a 5,566-mile race that began in Spain two weeks ago, covered vast stretches of African desert and left two motorcyclists dead.
Peterhansel added a second car title to his six victories in the motorcycle division. The Mitsubishi driver completed the punishing test in 52 hours 31 minutes 39 seconds.
France's Luc Alphand, a former champion downhill skier, finished second, 27:14 behind.
"This second victory is a confirmation of my new status as a car driver," Peterhansel said, smiling as he emerged from his vehicle covered in dust.
