Sweden's Anja Paerson continued her hot streak, taking a huge first-run lead and padding it in the second run Saturday to win her second straight World Cup giant slalom by 1.22 seconds over Nicole Hosp of Austria. Top American was Sarah Schleper in 24th place.

In collecting her second straight victory, Paerson's winning time was 2:24.63. Hosp finished second in 2:25.85 with Martina Ertl of Germany finishing third as the skiers raced under a cloudy sky with temperatures in the low 30s.

In addition to Schleper, Americans Kirsten Clark and Kristina Koznick finished 29th and 30th, respectively, in another uninspired showing for the U.S. team. Runaway World Cup points leader Janica Kostelic was not at her best, and wound up 17th. That should provide some inspiration for her in tomorrow's slalom.

The victory is the 7th of Paerson's young career, and third at Maribor. The 21 year-old Swede, who is the defending WC Slalom champ, figures to see this course for many years to come.

The weekend at Maribor concludes tomorrow with a slalom race. Next week, the women will compete in the World Championships, beginning Feb. 2 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

— MountainZone.com staff with additional material courtesy US Ski Team