Switzerland's reigning GS World Champion Sonja Nef had to be more patient this season than last year before winning her first World Cup race - her 12th in total since 1996. At Val d'Isere, she beat by 66/100 of a second the slalom World Champion Anja Paerson from Sweden in the third giant slalom of the winter. The downhill World Champion Michaela Dorfmeister from Austria came in 3rd, which helped her to reinforce her lead in the Overall World Cup standings.

Norway's Andrine Flemmen, the winner from Copper Mountain, in Colorado, was 4th after setting the fastest time in the first run. A mistake in the middle of the second run cost her another spot on the podium.

Canada's Allison Forsyth, 2nd in Colorado, was 5th after a slow first run . Only Nef was faster than her in the afternoon's run.

A bad crash for Janica

Croatia's "wondergirl" Janica Kostelic was on her way for a remarkable performance when he straddled a gate with her right ski in the upper part of the slope. She violently crashed out of the course after losing her ski. She suffers some bruises at her hip and her shoulder but her knees seemed fine. The skier from Zagreb may take a break now or enter some FIS-races in Maribor. It's also possible that she attends the men's races at Kranjska Gora where her more successful brother Ivica is aiming for some top-results. She would enjoy to fore-run the slalom on Saturday!

"It's just too bad because I was having a great run" she said after her fall in France. "I feel quite relaxed in this moment and I started with great pleasure in this giant slalom. Nobody was really expecting something from me, so I could really attack. As said, I found a great rhythm before this incident and I believe I had good shot for a top-10 if not more today. I'm happy that I suffer only minor pains at the hip and the shoulder, it could have been worse. I would have enjoyed another good result in the GS after my strong performance in the Super-G. I think that my pleasure to race helps me to be quite focused and determined".

By a strange coincidence, this new accident took place on Dec. 16th - as her bad crash at St Moritz two years ago or another bad spill in Austria in 1997 when she lost her balance in the finish area in an Austrian race while searching for her time on the board. That she injured a knee in that crash, a problem which took a very long time to heal. "I should never race on 16th of December anymore" she added.

10th GS win for Nef

2nd at Soelden behind Dorfmeister and 3rd in the USA behind Flemmen and Forsyth, Sonja Nef was ready to celebrate her first success on the technically demanding "OK" course in Val d'Isere. After a clean first run in which she only lost 17/100 of a second on Flemmen, she was much more aggressive in the afternoon and took a nice lead after her arrival.

Flemmen, the last to start, tried to cruise down the course with the same pace, but it was a bit too fast for her in the difficult middle section. She made a time-costing error which moved her down from 1st to 4th place.

"This winter, the level is definitely much higher in women's skiing and I had to fight harder than before to win my tenth giant slalom race" said Nef with controlled emotion. "It was difficult for me to compete on this slope on which my teammate Silvano Beltrametti had this bad crash".

"I want to dedicate him my victory. I hope he has enough energy and strength in him to get over his terrible accident. I wish to visit him soon at the hospital".

"Ski racing is a beautiful sport but it can also be quite dramatic. You need to be lucky. I was not too concerned by my form so far even if I could not win a race so far. I reached the podium in all the competitions I finished so far, so I can't complain. With the time, it gets harder to find the right motivation. Today I had a good reason to fight harder. It's a good way to prepare the holiday break".

Dorfmeister ready for more in St Moritz

While Nef and Paerson can wait until the end of the year and the races of Lienz, in Austria, to return on course, Michaela Dorfmeister will compete in St Moritz on Friday and Saturday. The downhill World Champion will try to make the best out of these two races to increase her lead in the Overall World Cup standings, her main goal this winter. Italy's Isolde Kostner will try to remain unbeaten in downhill while the German team seems quite solid in Super-G.