Italy's Karen Putzer jumped out to a big lead in the first run and never looked back as she picked up her 3rd World Cup victory this season in the Giant Slalom at Semmering, Austria. Putzer's winning time was 2:11.10, well ahead of Croatia's Janica Kostelic, who finished in 2:11.47. Nicole Hosp, skiing in front of her home country fans, tied for 3rd with Italy's Denise Karbon in 2:11.79.

Three American's finished in the top 20, though none contended seriously for the title. Sarah Schleper was 14th in a time of 2:12.18, while Caroline Lalive finished 19th (2:12.53) and Kristina Koznick 20th (2:12.75). American team leader Kirsten Clark, 6th in the overall points race but skiing in her weaker technical events this weekend, still finished a respectable 23rd with a time of 2:12.95.

Skiing in unseasonably warm weather, times deteriorated significantly in the second run as the snow softened. Putzer was third out of the gate in the first run and blistered the course in 1:04.90 for a half-second lead on the field. In the soft snow, no one was able to make up time in the second run. The win is Putzer's second consecutive in a giant slalom, and she has a victory in a super-G this season as well.

An indication of the growing strength of U.S. Skiing is that the team was not satisfied despite placing all four of its competitors in the top 25 for the day. "Today was really warm, but we didn't ski well, either – except for Caroline," said women's SL/GS Head Coach Mathias Berthold. "I know it's still Christmastime but we can't keep giving away presents like this. It really bothers me to see us ski so good in training, then have other girls finish ahead of us in the race."

"I know it's still Christmastime but we can't keep giving away presents like this." — U.S. Coach Mathias Berthold

He said Lalive "was headed for the top 10, maybe a top-5, and she hooked a gate on her second run. She left her glove, her ski pole right there…she was charging, skiing very aggressively, which was good. That's a step forward for Caroline; she doesn't have the result to show for it, but she skied so well."

The women run a slalom Sunday night in Semmering, which is outside Vienna and has become a regular between-holidays stop for the women in the last five or six years. The forecast calls for continued unseasonal warm weather and possible light rain. The next site, Berchtesgaden, Germany, has been forced to cancel its scheduled GS and slalom because of a lack of snow; there was no immediate word on whether the races will be relocated.

— MountainZone.com staff, with additional material courtesy, U.S. Ski Team