Newly crowned World Cup overall champion Michaela Dorfmeister collected her second victory in 24 hours Thursday at World Cup Finals, leading three Austrians into the top five spots as she won the last super G of the season.

Caroline Lalive (Steamboat Springs, CO) continued her solid rebound from Olympic disappointments, finishing seventh, with Kirsten Clark (Raymond, ME) 10th.

In 43-degree weather, it was sloppy going during the season's fifth super G. Dorfmeister, running first, had the best start spot as she won in 1:27.87. Second place went to the No. 2 skier, Austrian Alexandra Meissnitzer, who finished in 1:28.53 and 3rd was World Cup super G champion Hilde Gerg of Germany.

Lalive, skiing third, had a couple of bobbles which cost her although she held on for another top result. Her time was 1:29.71 with Clark 10th in 1:30.09. Jonna Mendes (Heavenly, CA) skied off course in mid-race and was a DNF.

Lalive was 11th last weekend in a downhill in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, 2nd Wednesday in the DH and now 7th. She was bumped back a spot when Germany's Martina Ertl came out of the last start spot, 26th, to finish 4th. She narrowly missed the chance – she would have had to be on the podium again – to crack the prestigious 400-point barrier, which would assure her of a favored start spot in all races next season.

"I probably skied too passively," Lalive said, "but I come away from this weekend with a really good feeling after [Wednesday]. And I felt I skied technically well today.

"It's funny," she continued. "I'm standing here thinking, 'Boy, if I had had a better day today, I would be in the GS and slalom this weekend. I would have liked to have kept racing but I'm leaving with confidence in my skiing right now."

Lalive missed the Chevy Truck U.S. Alpine Championships a year ago due to late-season injuries, but she said she's heading straight to this year's championships - which open next week at Squaw Valley, CA.

Downhill and super G Head Coach Jim Tracy said the balmy weather and erratic winds probably were more responsible for the results than his athletes' performances.

"It was over after the first skier went; there was no hope for anyone after that," he said. "They put some chemicals on the course and they lasted for the forerunners and No. 1, then it was over. This was just one of those days, and that happens, as we all know, in this outdoor sport.

"The girls charged today. I'm not disappointed in that at all. 'Liner' [Lalive] had a huge headwind when she came out of the gate, so even going third, she had no chance, none at all...and just look at everyone's times. And 'Clarky' skied well but it doesn't show in the result. So, now we turn the focus to next season. We know what we have to do and we're already working on getting that done.

"As I was driving in here a couple of days ago, I was listening to an interview with [men's overall, downhill and super G champion] Stephan Eberharter, and he was saying that during the pre-season he worked so much on his mental preparation, and we'll be working, for one thing, more on mental prep as well as the physical training. Mental strength is what separates the best at this level," Tracy said.

After a day off Friday, World Cup Finals resume Saturday with the men's slalom and women's giant slalom in Flachau before Sunday's wrap-up with men's GS and women's slalom.

— Courtesy US Ski Team