ST. MORITZ – Lindsey Vonn lost a chance to improve her ranking when the second race of her World Cup skiing comeback at age 40 was canceled on Sunday due to strong winds and poor visibility.
On Saturday, Vonn placed 14th in a super-G on the Corviglia course in St. Moritz to mark her return to the circuit after nearly six years of retirement.
Vonn lost time at the start of the race but then was competitive with the top-five finishers the rest of the way down.
“It took her 20 seconds to get back into it, and then she was fine,” said Chris Knight, Vonn’s personal coach.
Another super-G had been scheduled for Sunday.
“She’d like to be in the top 15 later in the season,” Knight told The Associated Press when the race was canceled. “What we’re aiming for the next races is to accumulate points and get a better start number around the girls who are competitive.”
Since Vonn hadn’t raced in so long, she had to use a new wild card for former champions that enabled her to start No. 31. But that’s still long after the top-ranked skiers start, leaving her with a bumpier and more challenging course.
“If we can get around those other girls on the same track in the same conditions then you really know what’s going on,” Knight said.
Vonn now won’t race again until the next speed weekend in St. Anton, Austria on Jan. 11-12, which features a downhill and a super-G.
After St. Anton, she plans to compete in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and hopefully qualify for the world championships in Saalbach, Austria, in February.
For now, Vonn is heading home to Miami for the holidays. Then she will return to Europe for training in early January before resuming a near-full schedule of speed races.
“We don’t have couple of races later on before finals on the schedule. But we’ll see,” Knight said. “I mean, it’s just moved so quickly.”
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