Strongest Season for Mancuso Since '08

SCHLADMING, Austria (March 18) – Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) fought her way to a fifth-place giant slalom finish in the Audi FIS Alpine Wrold Cup season finale, capping her best season since 2008 with fourth in the overall standings. Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg won the race and captured the giant slalom title for the second straight year. Mancuso, who had two victories and four other podiums, finished second in super G, fifth in the downhill standings and ninth in giant slalom.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) finished fifth in the final giant slalom of the year to produce her best season since 2008.
• Mancuso ended up second in super G, fourth in the overall, fifth in downhill and ninth in the GS standings.
• Mancuso's season included two victories and four other podium finishes.
• German Viktoria Rebensburg won the event and the season title for the second straight year.
• Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) was 16th after the first run and lost her bid for the 2,000 point mark when she lost a pole at the start of the second run and finished 24th. She ended up a career best second in the World Cup GS standings.
• Mancuso and Vonn will now head to the U.S. Ski Team's European Training base in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, Austria to test skis for 2013.
• Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships begin March 29 in Colorado's Winter Park Resort.
• The Audi FIS Alpine World Cup season now goes on hiatus until October with the giant slalom opening in Soelden, Austria.

QUOTES
Julia Mancuso
I needed that good result for my last giant slalom of the season. I have had a lot of moments where I was really right there and I just couldn’t get back into that top five.

I am excited to end strong and I had a solid effort. I got quite a few points so I know I can improve on that. I am psyched that I could actually stay solid when it seemed nothing was going right for me in giant slalom.

It's also feels pretty special to have won a few races, been right there in Super G and had a strong downhill year. I know that I can be back on the overall podium and that gives me a lot of motivation for next season.

Alex Hoedlmoser, Head Coach
It's pretty amazing to have Julia fighting for the podium every weekend. We know she can be there and she proved that with her hard work this season. Across the board, I'm incredibly proud of what this team has been able to produce. Not just Lindsey and Julia, but our women's speed team and Resi (Stiegler) and Mikaela (Shiffrin) on the tech side.

We had 10 women qualify for World Cup Finals and that says a lot about this team, but there's still a lot of work to do. We know we can improve.

TV
Universal Sports will air the race at 1:30 p.m. ET.

RESULTS
Official Results

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