The Sidelines : Girardelli Widens Slalom Lead

Marc Girardelli overwhelmed the competition in a World Cup giant slalom today, winning his second straight race and widening his lead in the overall standings.

Austrian-born Girardelli, a three-time cup champion racing for Luxembourg, finished in a two-heat combined time of 2 minutes, 5.72 seconds. He beat Italian rival Alberto Tomba, the Olympic giant slalom champion, by 1.56 seconds. Tomba’s time was 2:07.28. Girardelli was fastest in both 44-gate runs of the season’s fourth giant slalom.

World champion Rudolf Nierlich of Austria was third, 1.69 behind at 2:07.41.

The latest performance by the 27-year-old skier followed his victories in a special slalom and combined at Kitzbuehel on Sunday. After an injury-plagued season last year, he has become one of the favorites for the world championship in Austria next week.