Schneider Wins Slalom Race at Mt. Blanc

Vreni Schneider of Switzerland edged Blanca Fernandez-Ochoa of Spain by one-hundredth of a second to win a women’s World Cup slalom race today.

The victory was her fourth of the season and the 17th of her career.

Schneider leads the women’s overall World Cup standings by 58 points with an impressive total of 132 points after seven races.

The 24-year-old Swiss, an Olympic slalom and giant slalom champion, clocked a winning aggregate time of 1 minute, 37.53 seconds after two heats down the Checrouit course, at the foot of Mt. Blanc, Europe’s highest peak.

Fernandez-Ochoa missed her first slalom victory since 1987 with a time of 1:37.54.

Austria’s Ingrid Salvenmoser, a third-group starter at No. 39, rallied from 12th place in the first heat to finish third in 1:38.96.

Two other Austrian skiers, Anita Wachter and Ulrike Maier, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Wachter, last year’s winner on this course, was timed in 1:38.98. Maier finished in 1:39.00.