Schneider Surges To Title

Swiss veteran Vreni Schneider clinched her third World Cup overall title, cracking the nerves and hopes of young German rival Katja Seizinger in the decisive women’s slalom.

Schneider, who needed to win the race, charged to victory with an aggressive second-run performance.

Her fourth slalom victory of the season and the 55th of her World Cup career gave Schneider a six-point margin, 1,248 to 1,242, over Seizinger in the final overall standings after 31 races.

Alberto Tomba, meanwhile, broke the hearts of nearly 50,000 supporters as he straddled a gate in the first run of the men’s slalom, losing a chance for his 12th victory of the season.

With three season Cups - slalom, giant slalom and overall - Schneider matched Tomba in the men’s competition.

Schneider, who has a history of secondrun comebacks, had a winning total time of 1 minute, 31.69 seconds, beating Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden by .25 seconds.