THE SIDELINES : Tomba to Skip Super-G Slalom

World Cup overall leader Alberto Tomba, who does not like to take risks in fast races, will skip Sunday’s super-giant slalom scheduled in Garmisch, Germany, Italian team officials reported today.

Tomba, 24, who leads the Cup standings with 97 points, is likely to lose the lead to his closest pursuers, Ole Christian Furuseth, Marc Girardelli and Franz Heinzer, who will start in the downhill and super-G scheduled in the German resort over the weekend.

Tomba, a slalom and giant slalom Olympic champion, does not start in downhill and occasionally enters super-G. The Italian ace broke his left collarbone in a super-G spill in France last season and injured a thumb in a near-fall in the opening super-G of this season.

“I am not going to take undue risks prior to the world championships,” Tomba said in a recent interview.