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Vonn amped up her preparations for the Pyeongchang Games by winning a World Cup downhill by a large margin Saturday while Italian rival Sofia Goggia avoided a major crash with the help of a safety air bag.
Vonn clocked 1 minute Vontae Davis Jersey , 36.48 seconds on the sun-drenched Olympia delle Tofane course for a massive 0.92-second advantage over Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.
”I know what I’m capable of. This weekend just proves it,” Vonn said. ”No matter what happens from here to the Olympics I’ll be confident. I have a good feeling on my skis. I feel balanced, in control and solid. This weekend was really important for me.
”This is just the momentum that I was hoping for and that I was planning on going to the Olympics,” added Vonn, who celebrated by riding an electric bicycle – a gift from the local organizing committee – around on the snow in the finish area.
Vonn’s U.S. teammate Jacqueline Wiles finished third, 0.98 behind, for her second career podium result.
Goggia, the winner of the past two downhills, lost control landing a jump in the Tofana Schuss and made a quick recovery but could not continue.
”I was able to control the fall with the help of the air bag,” Goggia said. ”I ran a big risk. It was scary.”
Many racers wear an air bag in a vest under their racing suits. A complicated algorithm triggers inflation during falls when skiers reach a point where they can no longer regain control.
Vonn clocked 129.8 kph (80 mph) in the schuss, an imposing and narrow chute between two huge rock outcrops on the top section of the course.
”It was good, clean skiing today. I didn’t make any big mistakes like yesterday,” said Vonn Emmitt Smith Jersey , who finished second in Friday’s downhill after an error midway down.
”And it was just really fun to race. It was a beautiful day – normal, perfect Cortina sunshine – and perfect conditions,” Vonn added. ”So it made me really happy just to be out there on the mountain today.”
It was Vonn’s second win this season, a record 12th in Cortina and 79th of her career – moving her within seven of Ingemar Stenmark’s record 86 World Cup victories.
”My focus right now is so much on the Olympics that I haven’t really thought about it that much this season,” Vonn said of Stenmark’s record. ”After the Olympics, that will be my No. 1 priority again and I’ll try to rack up as many wins as possible before I retire.”
After a couple of crashes and a jarred back at the start of this season, Vonn had been holding back or sitting out races when conditions were difficult due to fog or ice.
So how will she handle it if the conditions for the Olympic downhill on Feb. 21 are not perfect?
”When I get to Korea there will be no holding back no matter what the conditions are. This is what I’ve been working for for the last eight years,” said Vonn, who missed the 2014 Sochi Games due to a series of knee injuries.
”The tactics leading into the Olympics are so that I can get to the Olympics healthy – not that I’m afraid to push myself in bad conditions,” Vonn added. ”I know what I’m capable of and if I choose to ski aggressively I know what I can do. It’s all or nothing in Korea.”
Wiles was on course to finish second – trailing Vonn by just 0.30 seconds at the penultimate checkpoint – but then drifted too wide on a turn and lost a big chunk of time.
Still, Wiles was especially honored to share the podium with Vonn, who supported her financially when she was getting started on the circuit.
Wiles is also an ambassador for the Lindsey Vonn foundation.
”She’s done a lot for my career and she gave me an amazing course report and pumped me up through the radio before my run,” Wiles said. ”I’m really grateful she’s such a great friend and role model I have to learn from.”
Up next is a super-G on Sunday.
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More AP Olympic coverage: Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters were laughing and joking like old friends shortly after the start of their first day together at the Los Angeles Rams’ training complex.
The Rams’ opponents might not have that much fun this fall when they face two of the NFL’s best pass defenders in the same secondary.
The defending NFC West champions kicked off their offseason by acquiring bookend elite cornerbacks in two trades that were formally announced Wednesday. Talib and Peters say they’re thrilled to play under coordinator Wade Phillips on a defense undergoing an intriguing overhaul.
”These guys are special players Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey ,” head coach Sean McVay said. ”They bring a great passion for the game. You can see these are both cerebral players, and then they have the physical talents to match up. Guys that love football, these are the types of guys we love to be around.”
Rams general manager Les Snead has created a seemingly stellar secondary after entering the season with the uncertainty of top cornerback Trumaine Johnson, slot cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman and starting safety Lamarcus Joyner all heading for free agency.
They lost Johnson to a lavish deal from the New York Jets, but the Rams re-signed Robey-Coleman, franchised Joyner and swung trades for two cornerbacks with seven combined Pro Bowl selections to play alongside Joyner and safety John Johnson III in a potent starting lineup. Los Angeles even added talented veteran cornerback Sam Shields, who missed last season due to concussions, as a probable backup alongside 2017 starting cornerback Kayvon Webster, who has a long road back from a heel injury.
Peters has known for nearly three weeks that he was headed out of Kansas City, where he spent his first three NFL seasons. When he heard last week that Talib would join him with the up-and-coming Rams, the Oakland native was thrilled.
”Oh, let’s do it,” Peters said. ”For me L. P. Ladouceur Jersey , I get to have another All-Pro corner on the other side, so now you don’t know where you’re going to go. And then when you’ve got a safety like Joyner and then you’re adding Sam Shields and you keep Robey? Come on now. It’s just going to be fun. You’ve got to find a way. Pick your poison.”
Talib and Peters both paid attention last season when McVay and Phillips led this long-struggling franchise to its first winning season since 2003 and its first playoff appearance since 2004. After winning the Super Bowl two seasons ago under Phillips’ direction in Denver, Talib was eager to be a part of another potential powerhouse.
”I saw a bunch of guys having fun,” Talib said of watching the Rams last season. ”They were playing for somebody who they believed in. You watch half the teams in the league, they just go through the motions and kind of collect a check, but there’s another half of those teams, and playoff teams, they’ve got a coach who they respect, and whatever he’s preaching, he’s got guys believing that they can really go do it.”
Peters and Talib are two world-class talents with just enough apparent questions surrounding them to make them available to the Rams.
Peters, who was dismissed from his college team at Washington, argued with an assistant coach late last season with the Chiefs, leading to a one-game suspension. McVay and Snead are confident Peters’ competitiveness is the only reason for the trouble Zay Jones Jersey , and he intends to direct that energy toward the Rams’ goals.
”When we look back into the game, passionate players have always been the ones that got the bad rep of not being a team player and being selfish,” Peters said. ”That’s not the case for me. My ultimate goal is to be a winner. I was born a champion.”
Talib has been in scrapes with the law, his employers and opponents during his 10 professional seasons. His rivalry with receiver Michael Crabtree has attracted the most attention, but teammates also praise his loyalty and competitiveness. McVay, who is 20 days older than the 32-year-old Talib, expects the veteran to be an immediate team leader.
The additions came at a cost to the Rams, who had to trade defensive captain Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants to make room for Talib.
”It’s rare to be able to acquire two players of this caliber,” McVay said. ”So when the opportunity does present itself, you want to be ready.”
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