Austria's Zettel wins World Cup giant slalom

Kathrin Zettel led a 1-2 Austrian finish in a World Cup giant slalom Friday, while Lindsey Vonn moved within one race of capturing her second overall title.

Zettel remained the World Cup leader in the giant slalom with her fourth victory in the discipline this season. Teammate Elisabeth Goergl trailed by 0.12 seconds. Zettel increased her lead over Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, who finished third.

Vonn had a smooth run to finish eighth. Nearest overall rival Maria Riesch of Germany was a distant 22nd, making Vonn likely to clinch her second straight overall title.

With five races remaining — and 500 points at stake — she leads Riesch by 414 points.

A slalom is scheduled for Saturday when Vonn could clinch the title. She won the downhill title for the second time last weekend.

"It's great Lindsey has such a big lead in the overall, but she wasn't happy with the way she skied today," U.S. Ski Team head coach Jim Tracy said. "She skis to be on the podium in every race and she's at a level where she can do that, she expects more of herself."

Zettel, second after the first run, won in a combined time of 2 minutes, 36.48 seconds. Goergl moved up from fourth and Poutiainen gained two places.

Zettel leads Poutiainen by 41 points with one giant slalom race left in the season.

"It was a very important victory, it increased my lead," said Zettel, who entered the race only one point ahead. "A lot can still happen, though. One mistake, one crash and it could be all over."

Tina Maze of Slovenia, who led after the first run, dropped to fourth.

Zettel overcame difficult conditions on Ofterschwang's Horn course, racing both runs with few mistakes in steady snowfall for her sixth career victory.