Lindsey Vonn cautious but solid, scoring points in World Cup comeback in St. Moritz

Lindsey Vonn‘s back, and she’s still got it.

Five years after calling it quits, the 40-year-old marked her Alpine Skiing World Cup comeback with a Super G race on the Corviglia piste in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Saturday (21 December) – and secured a top-15 result, scoring a handful of World Cup points.

Vonn had to qualify for the right to race, and did so by competing in FIS Cup-level races earlier this month in Copper Mountain. On Saturday, she was the 31st to take to the Corviglia and the first of the non-seeded racers to do so.

In the start gate, the American took repeated deep breaths, as if nervous to finally return to the World Cup circuit. After all, with 28 wins, she entered the race as the most successful Super G World Cup racer of all time – a big legacy of her own to live up to.

But Vonn’s racecraft clearly has not left her in her five seasons away from top-level competitive skiing. While she opted for a cautious start to the race, Vonn took clean lines and showed glimpses of her very best while maintaining in touch with the top times.

Vonn split the first two sectors around half a second behind leader Cornelia Hütter and only lost another half second over the rest of the race, finishing in 1:16.36. That was just 1.18 seconds off of Hütter’s leading mark and good for 14th place, and better than half the racers who had come before her.

In the finishing zone, the American let out a big whoop of joy. There was no wiping off the beaming smile she wore on her face as she waved to cheering crowds who acknowledged her remarkable return.

The first race is now out of the way. How far can this comeback go?