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Vonn fastest again in downhill training

Nate PetersonAspen, CO Colorado
Jordan Curet/The Aspen Times
ALL | The Aspen Times

ASPEN Lindsey Vonn said Thursday that she can ski much faster. That might be disconcerting to the other World Cup racers who have to share the same course with the 23-year-old Vail local Friday when Americas Downhill returns to Aspen Mountain. Vonn set the pace again Thursday in the second of two days of downhill training runs, crossing the finish line of the 2-mile long Ruthies course in 1 minute, 34.30 seconds. Her winning time Wednesday was 23 hundredths of a second faster, although Vonn who currently leads the World Cup downhill standings after a win Saturday at Lake Louise, Alberta noted she skied a much cleaner line Thursday. Austrias Elisabeth Goergl was second (1:34.39), followed by Switzerlands Martina Schild (1:34.70).I never really ski training runs like the races, said Vonn, who skied conservatively on the courses tricky bottom section. I like to have something extra. You dont want to show all your cards. That said, Vonn admitted she is skiing exceptionally well at the moment. She crushed the field in Lake Louise, besting runner-up Renate Goetschl of Austria by 78 hundredths of a second. She also said she had a better feel for the Aspen course after studying the tape of her Wednesday run and making adjustments. I normally dont win training runs when Im not skiing well, she said. I just want to put it all together tomorrow, and hopefully I can pull off another win. A day after finishing sixth, U.S. skier Julia Mancuso was back in the pack, in 16th (1:35.57). Teammate Stacey Cook (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) supplanted her in the top 10, finishing sixth (1:35.24) while Resi Stiegler (Jackson, Wyo.) was 29th (1:37.77).npeterson@aspentimes.com