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Finn Poutianen Wins Aspen GS
Aspenl, CO — November 26, 2004

Finn Tanja Poutianen won the second giant slalom of the season Friday, holding off defending World Cup champ Anja Paerson of Sweden by .09. Kristina Koznick (Eagan, MN) was 24th while Kirsten Clark (Raymond, ME) was 28th as she returned to World Cup racing Friday after a racing crash last January ended her 2004 season.

On the first day of the Aspen Winternational, the first run started in a snowstorm. Poutiainen won in official 2:12.49 with Paerson timed in 2:14.58 and Croatian Janica Kostelic third.

About five inches of snow fell on the course as the race got started, creating choppy conditions for everyone after about the first 15 or 20 racers. The second run was not as bad as the sun broke through and the course was smoother.

"It was a tough course. Only five girls from outside the first 30 made it into the second run," said U.S. Head Coach Patrick Riml. The U.S. started nine women and there was clear disappointment with only two skiers into the final run.

"These were not the results we were expecting," Riml said. "Definitely, though, having 'Clarky' come back and score points right away was the highlight."

Koznick, who was fourth in the season opener Oct. 23 in Soelden, Austria - the best World Cup GS result of her career, said she was a little unsure in the rutted conditions and didn't attack as she hoped she would. "I've been training fast and I have some high expectations for this weekend. But I'm still learning my way through this kind of conditions."

Clark's goal for the day was to be top-30, she said, as she works her way back to World Cup racing after a Jan. 30 crash in Haus, Austria, when she tore ligaments in both knees and broke her right wrist. She had no problem with either knee, she said, and was pleased to be racing again.

"First run, my nerves were a lot more than they were second run," she said. I'm a little disappointed with my second run. I mean, I thought that I skied well but maybe I was just a little too cautious...

First run, she said, "was definitely difficult. You couldn't see the gates, you can't see the terrain coming up, can't see the holes and you're just hitting them." The second run was smoother and, with the sun out, the flat light went away.

The women run slalom Saturday and Sunday, and then head to Lake Louise, Alberta, for the first speed races of the season Dec. 3-5 as they flip-flop with the men's schedule. The men race Dec. 2-5 in Beaver Creek, Colo., at the Visa Birds of Prey races.

WOMEN'S ALPINE WORLD CUP
Aspen Winternational
Aspen, CO - Nov. 26, 2004
Women's Giant Slalom

1. Tanja Pouitiainen, Finland, 2:12.49
2. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 2:12.58
3. Janica Kostelic, Croatia, 2:12.64

24. Kristina Koznick, Eagan, Minn., 2:16.33
28. Kirsten Clark, Raymond, Maine, 2:17

Did not qualify for 2nd run:
Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, Calif.; Jessica Kelley, Starksboro, Vt.; Lauren Ross, Stowe, Vt.; Libby Ludlow, Bellevue, Wash.

DNF-1:
Sarah Schleper, Vail, Colo.; Caroline Lalive, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Resi Stiegler, Jackson Hole, Wyo.


Courtesy of US Ski Team