Three downhill races this season, three medals for Lindsey Vonn.
Vonn edged Ilka Stuhec for the bronze medal in the downhill Saturday in Val d’Isere, France, finishing 0.04 seconds ahead of the Slovenian. Vonn’s time of 1:41.89 was 0.35 seconds behind winner Cornelia Huetter of Austria.
In only the second weekend of downhill races this season, Vonn already has a complete set of medals.
She got her first World Cup victory since coming out of a nearly six-year retirement last week, winning the first downhill in St. Moritz in commanding fashion. She followed that the next day with a silver in the second downhill.
Now she has a bronze from Val d’Isere.
‘The best way is winning. So it’s not the very best,’ Vonn said, laughing, when asked if this was the best way to start the season. ‘Being on the podium is amazing. If you would have asked me last year if I’d be happy with a podium, I would say (absolutely).
‘I’m just going to keep trying to improve,’ she added. ‘I have 49 more days until the Olympics start. I know I’ll be ready for that.’
Vonn had been solid in training in Val d’Isere, where she has won seven times. But Kira Weidle-Winkelmann of Germany, the first skier in Saturday’s race, laid down the gauntlet with a blistering run.
Vonn had a faster time than Weidle-Winkelmann through the first four sectors of the course. But Vonn got off her line at one point, cost herself precious time in a sport decided by tenths and hundredths of a second. She finished 0.09 seconds behind Weidle-Winkelmann, putting her in second place.
‘I wish I would have skied a little bit better today. I thought I executed the middle section where I didn’t ski well in the training runs,’ Vonn said. ‘But on the bottom, then I made a big mistake and I lost a lot of time, so I was mad at myself for making a mistake.’
Huetter was the next skier to go, and she knocked both Weidle-Winkelmann and Vonn down a spot on the podium with an impressive burst at the bottom of the course.
Still, the podium finish means Vonn will extend her lead in the season downhill standings.
‘In general, I’m really happy with my skiing. I have another podium and I still have the red (leader’s) bib, so there’s a lot to be happy about,’ she said. ‘I’m just looking to improve myself every day, every race. I know I can be better.’
Joining Vonn in the top 10 was fellow American Breezy Johnson, who finished seventh. Jackie Wiles (15th) and Allison Mollin (22nd) also were in the top 25.