Germany's slalom Olympic Champion Hilde Gerg won her second World Cup race this season here in Saalbach, Austria, where the fourth downhill of the winter took place by perfect weather conditions and in front of a nice crowd.

After her success at Val d'Isere where she dominated he rivals in a Super-G a month ago, Gerg clocked the fastest time at the end of the "Zwoelfer" course beating Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg by 12/100 of a second while Italy's favorite Isolde Kostner came in 3rd at 15/100.

Renate Goetschl and Michaela Dorfmeister had to be content with more disappointing 7th and 8th places while America's Picabo Street reached a promising 10th place.

Croatia's Janica Kostelic grabbed an encouraging 25th place - it was her first downhill since the Finals at Are, last March. She is one of the favorites for the combined here calculated on Saturday's downhill and Sunday's slalom.

She only lost 2/100 of a second on the 2000 downhill World Cup Champion, Germany's Regina Hauesl, who didn't compete last winter because of a severe knee injury.

Janica was pleased by her result today. "I had a safe run, it was fun" she said. "I have not practiced this specialty for a long time and it's good that I could find my marks so soon. Yet tomorrow's race is more important for me since it counts for the combined".

"I enjoy racing this kind of race because I like to ski fast and I don't have a precise goal beside skiing smoothly".

If she continues to improve in slalom, Janica could again be a top contender for the combined events especially at Salt Lake City.

America's Caroline Lalive, 20th today, should be the skier to beat in this combined this weekend.

Sweden's Anja Paerson, the quadruple winner in slalom this season, didn't compete in that race. She's focusing on the technical events this winter yet she kept the lead in the Overall Standings ahead of Switzerland Sonja Nef.

Michaela Dorfmeister remains 3rd at 121 points. She needs to improve her level in the speed events if she wants to keep a fair chance to win the big Crystal globe this season.

Hilde Gerg likes to ski fast

An excellent all-rounder in the younger years, Gerg already reached a lot in Ski Racing in winning the Super-G World Cup in 1997 and the Olympic Gold medal at Nagano where she beat Italy's Deborah Compagnoni.

A bad injury at an ankle two years ago forced her to concentrate more on the speed events, with much success. She captured the last downhill of the past season raced in Are, Sweden, during the Finals and she had some strong finishes this winter in Lake Louise and St Moritz.

"Downhill is an exciting event for me, I like to ski fast as long as I can control my skis" she said after the race.

"It's a good downhill for me because it's short and quite technical. I skied perfectly in the last part" added the Bavarian from Lenggries, the actual leader in the Super-G standings.

"I was hoping for a solid season but this is much better than I thought. I just feel comfortable and relaxed right now and I'm looking for more fun in the coming weeks including the Olympics. I think the best for me is not to set myself any precise goal".

She is going for a second consecutive success on Saturday.