Austria’s recently-crowned world champion Anna Fenninger took full advantage of mishaps to local star Tina Maze and American great Lindsey Vonn to win Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom.
Fenninger, 25, the defending overall World Cup champion, was fastest over both legs, beating world silver medallist Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany by seven hundredths of a second.
Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather was third, 0.3sec adrift of the winner.
Fenninger’s victory saw her go top of the World Cup giant slalom standings — in front of compatriot Eva-Maria Brem, who was only 10th on Saturday — and close the gap on Maze in the race for the overall title to 84 points.
Over the first leg, Fenninger was half a second down on Olympic champion Rebensburg, who must have thought her win drought stretching back to December 2012 was about to come to an end.
However, Fenninger found the resources necessary to produce a stunning second half of the second leg to deny the German and record the 10th World Cup victory of her career.
“I felt that the middle of my second leg run wasn’t good,” said Fenninger.
“I benefited from a change of angle to adopt a new rhythm which happily was rapid.”
Maze and Vonn failed to finish the first leg in different manners.
Maze, 31 and who returned home with two gold medals and a silver from the world championships, lost control two gates from the finish.
“I wanted to move up a gear,” explained Maze.
“In fact I thought I was home and dry but the turn was too tight.”
Vonn fell when she was on course to record the fastest time.
Maze has enjoyed huge success on the Maribor slopes before, from her first podium finish in 2002 to three race wins and three other top three placings.