Suhadolc skis into the lead

Mojca Suhadolc capitalized on her advantageous starting position draw to win Sunday's women's super-giant slalom in Lake Louise, Alberta, her first career World Cup victory.

Mojca Suhadolc capitalized on her advantageous starting position draw to win Sunday's women's super-giant slalom in Lake Louise, Alberta, her first career World Cup victory.

The 24-year-old Slovenian completed the 1,810-meter hard-packed course in 1 minute 15.80 seconds, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of Germany's Hilde Gerg.

Unlike most skiers, Suhadolc enjoys going down the hill first.

"I like being at the front of the race," she said, accepting hugs and handshakes from other competitors in the finish corral. "I get nervous if I wait around at the top. This way I don't think about (the race) so much."

Gerg, who was second in Saturday's downhill by sixth-hundredths, again missed victory with a time of 1:15.82.

Downhill winner Isolde Kostner was third in 1:16.19 and took over the overall World Cup lead with 186 points.

Austria's Birgitte Obermoser was fourth in 1:26.25, .35 ahead of local favorite Melanie Turgeon in fifth place, a career best in super giant slalom for the Canadian.

"I didn't know if they were cheering because I was Canadian or because of the result," Turgeon said. "So I took a couple of deep breaths and got some courage to turn my head. I knew I had a strong race, I knew I didn't make any mistakes. I was happy when I looked at the board."

For Suhadolc, in her eighth season on the circuit, the victory is highlight of a career marred by injuries.

Her best previous finish was second in giant slalom and a third in super giant slalom at Val d'Isere in 1996.

"It's a very special feeling, I didn't expect to be so fast," said Suhadolc, who left the finish area after her run because she didn't think her time would stand up.

"I've always been close, but now I think things are changing."