Sarah Schleper takes second in Women’s Slalom event of the U.S. Alpine Championship
On the women’s side, the race came down to the three veterans.
Mancuso had plenty of reasons for falling behind — she’s recovering from the flu and she flew all night Friday to arrive in Anchorage at 7 a.m. Saturday — as Vonn edged Mancuso by .31 seconds for the title.
“It was cool to be duking it out with your friends, that’s what makes U.S. championships so much fun,” she said. “Julia and I were tied going into the second run, then Sarah has a super impressive run to move up — it was pretty exciting.”
Especially for Schleper, who’s back racing after taking time off for knee surgery and a baby.
“Just to get back on the podium and nationals is cool,” said the four-time national champion.
She had the fastest second run and nearly caught Vonn for the title. Schleper said she could feel herself holding back on her second run and had to tell herself to go hard in the soft snow.
“These conditions are very rare,” she said. “Most of the year we’re skiing on ice. It’s a kind of a different technique to ski on the softer snow. You have to be really soft in the legs and just absorb the terrain in-between the gates.”
The women’s giant slalom is scheduled for Monday.
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source: The Associated Press