Slovenia's Tina Maze won the World Cup giant slalom event in front of a cheering home crowd on Saturday, bagging her third g-slalom win of the season. Maze finished in 2:16.36, 0.22s ahead of Italy's Karen Putzer. Martina Ertl of Germany was third, 0.93s behind.
The 21-year-old Slovenian literally led from start to finish, taking advantage of starting number 1 to build up a tiny 0.17s lead Ahead of Italy's Karen Putzer. She attacked full force in the second run, boosted by Putzer's excellent second.
"I heard the crowd when (Putzer) crossed the finish line, and I said to myself I just have to attack with all the power I have," a smiling Maze said just before she stepped on the podium for the fourth time this year. This was also the first home victory for Slovenia at the traditional event in 11 years.
With this victory, Maze edged closer to the leader in the giant slalom standings, Tanja Puotiainen of Finland. The Finn was third after the first run but finished a disappointing 7th after a lacklustre second run.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was third-placed Martina Ertl, her first giant slalom podium after more than a year. "This is a wonderful day. You should always believe in yourself," she added.
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