Tomba Wins Italian Giant Slalom Title

Alberto Tomba, skiing in only his second race in two months, won the Italian giant slalom title today.

Tomba, who missed most of the World Cup season after breaking his collarbone in December, was third after the first heat today, then turned in the fastest second run and won with an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 06.02 seconds.

Luca Pesando was second at 2:06.62.

“This is a longed-for victory, and it’s worth a lot to me,” Tomba said. “I needed it to restore my morale and prove I am still the strongest in Italy.” Tomba, 23, a double Olympic gold medal winner in Calgary in 1988, broke his left collarbone in a spill during a Super-G race in Val d’Isere in December.

Since then, he raced in only one World Cup event, a slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Jan. 21. He did not complete the second run.

Tomba said he will go for the Italian slalom title before making a decision about the final races of the World Cup season in Norway and Sweden.