Maze completes the set with a super-G win

Tina Maze became only the sixth woman to win in all five Alpine ski World Cup disciplines when she took victory in a super-G yesterday. The Slovenian’s sixth race win of the season, in one minute 16.55 seconds, completed the set for Maze, who now looks almost certain to win the overall World Cup given her enormous lead over her rivals. The 29-year-old Maze, who had earned eight podium places in super-G before Sunday, joined Lindsey Vonn, Janica Kostelic, Anja Paerson, Pernilla Wiberg and Petra Kronberger among the women skiers crowned in every discipline. “It was a big dream. I’d been thinking about winning in all five disciplines for a long time. I knew I had a good chance here and I gave it my all because I knew it was really a chance not to be missed,” Maze told reporters. “It’s a great reward for me and a great achievement for my team. For a such a small team to achieve what we’re doing this season is simply extraordinary. I’m over the moon,” she added. It was, though, a close call for the giant slalom world champion as she beat local favorite Anna Fenninger by 0.04 seconds on a tough, technical Klaus Schranz piste. Fenninger, the winner of a giant slalom in Semmering a week ago and third in Saturday’s downhill, will be Austria’s best hope at home in the world championships in Schladming next month. “It’s disappointing to lose by 0.04 but at the same time it was my goal to be entered in four disciplines in Schladming,” said the Fenninger, who will defend her super-combined world title. Swiss Fabienne Suter pushed Vonn off the podium by 0.01 seconds to take third place. Four-times World Cup champion Vonn, who was joint sixth on Saturday after taking a self-imposed three-week break, finished exactly a second behind Maze. “It’s a shame to miss the podium by 0.01 seconds but it’s harder to take a break in the middle of the season,” said the American. “I’ll be back to my best in Cortina (d’Ampezzo next week). As for Tina, well she’s just running away with the Cup, isn’t she?” In the World Cup overall standings, Maze leads nearest rival Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany by 545 points while her total of 1,289 points is more than twice as much as any other skier. From Arabnews