Karbon wins women's giant slalom title after cancellation; Italy wins 1st title in 11 years

Denise Karbon won the women's World Cup giant slalom title after Saturday's race was canceled due to rain and strong winds.

Karbon leads by 181 points over Elisabeth Goergl of Austria with one race in Bormio remaining, giving Italy its first women's giant slalom title since Deborah Compagnoni won in 1997.

"We are going to celebrate tonight in the hotel," Karbon said on Gazzetta dello Sport's Web site. "I heard the news a few minutes ago and had a really strange feeling because I really hoped to run this race. But the conditions here are very ugly."

Karbon finished 15th in the giant slalom last season after coming second in 2004. Karen Putzer of Italy almost won in 2003, falling just one point behind champion Anja Paerson of Sweden.

Karbon is 10th in the overall World Cup standings with 619 points, well behind leader Lindsey Vonn of the United States, who remains 54 points ahead of Nicole Hosp of Austria.

On Thursday, organizers switched around the World Cup races at Arber-Zwiesel, with the slalom moving from Sunday to Saturday and the giant slalom to Sunday. The slalom will now be held Sunday.