Janica Kostelic of Croatia celebrated her 21st birthday in grand style, winning the World Cup slalom at Bormio in a time of 1:36.74. Kostelic has dominated the Cup scene all year, and this race was no different, as she had the fastest time in both runs.

Kostelic's winning time was nearly two full seconds better than that of second place finisher Elisabeth Goergl of Austria, who finished in 1:38.82. The 21-year old Goergl had her first-ever podium on the World Cup circuit in just her fifth race of the season. Anja Paerson of Sweden collected her second podium of the weekend, finishing 3rd. .08 behind Goergl.

For the U.S., it was another pretty good, but not spectacular, day on the slopes. Three U.S. women finished in the top 20, led by Kristina Koznick in 10th. Koznick's time was 1:39.23. Sarah Schleper finished 17th in 1:39.89, while Julia Mancuso was 20th in 1:39.97.

For Kostelic, it was her fifth win of the season, and 17th of her spectacular young career. She has now amassed 1,055 points in the overall standings, an nearly insurmountable lead. The slalom was a great recovery for Kostelic, who had fallen during Saturday's Giant Slalom and finished with no points.

Next weekend, speed events will take center stage, with a downhill and super-G at famed Innsbruck, Austria.

— MountainZone.com Staff