Lindsey Vonn plays it safe, finishes third in World Cup super combined

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With the Winter Olympics two weeks away and her main rival out of contention, Lindsey Vonn decided to play it a little safe in today’s World Cup super-combined event in Switzerland.

The American finished third in the event, taking a cautious approach in the slalom race to extend her overall lead in the World Cup standings.

Sweden’s Anja Paerson won the event, posting a combined time of 2 minutes, 0.54 second. It was her 41st career World Cup win, pushing her up to fourth on the all-time list.

Vonn took a more conservative run in the slalom after Germany’s Maria Riesch, who is second in World Cup points, skied out of the super-G after missing a gate.

‘That definitely changed my tactics quite a bit in the slalom run,’ Vonn told the Associated Press. ‘If [Maria] would have finished and been competitive in the super-G, I would have had to risk a lot more. I took it pretty easy and made it down.’

Vonn is among the favorites to win the Olympic super combined on Feb. 14. She says she is more confident in the event following today’s encouraging result.

‘I’m definitely going to risk a lot more in the Olympics,’ she said.

-- Austin Knoblauch

The Associated Press contributed to this report.