SOCHI, Russia (Feb. 19) - The Sochi organizing committee made every effort to prepare the 2014 Olympic speed track, but overnight snow and warm temperatures made the surface too unstable to host the third Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super combined. The race will not be rescheduled later in the season, therefore Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) will be awarded the super combined title at World Cup Finals with a victory and a second in the two completed races. It was the 14th World Cup title for Vonn, who clinched her fifth consecutive downhill title Saturday as part of a record breaking day that saw four U.S. women in the top 10. The World Cup tour now flies to Moscow for a night parallel slalom at the Luzhniki 1980 Olympic Complex.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Unstable snow forced the cancelation of the third women's Audi FIS Alpine World Cup super combined, the race will not be rescheduled
- With two of the three scheduled super combined races completed, Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) wins the title
- It is Vonn's 14th World Cup title and third consecutive in super combined
- The World Cup tour moves to Moscow for a night parallel slalom held at the Luzhniki 1980 Olympic Complex
- The race will be held on a special ramp constructed to 170 feet high and over 535 feet long
- The top 15 World Cup athletes from each gender are eligible to compete
- Vonn, Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) and Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) will represent the U.S. Ski Team
- With her two crystal globes this weekend, Vonn now has 14, equal with Vreni Schneider, behind only Annemarie Moser-Pröll (16).
QUOTES
Alex Hoedlmoser, Head Coach
After the success we've had this week, we are really excited to get another chance to race on this hill, but the snow was just too soft to host a safe race. It was the right decision. Still, we had a great week in Sochi and I'm really proud of what this team was able to accomplish here. We've shown that we're doing the right things to be competitive on this slope in 2014.
Lindsey Vonn
They did everything they could and they definitely made progress, but unfortunately it wasn't safe enough to race. I'm really happy with the decision because safety is the most important thing.
You never want to have a title clinched with a canceled race. I had it happen to me at the World Cup Finals last year with the overall globe and I've won a super combined title with a canceled race. It's tough when you only have three races.
I feel comfortable on this hill and I had a chance to get another look at how the super G would potentially run. I feel ready for the Olympics and I'm psyched about this hill.
Moscow should be fun, we're going to have a big opening press event with Soelden and Oberburgl-Hochgurgl, our European Training Base, who's also sponsoring the race. I've never been to Moscow before so I'm really excited to see the city. I've heard that this event is a lot of fun with tons of people watching so I'm really looking forward to it.
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