By Manuele Lang
VAL D'ISERE, France, Dec 20 - Ski racer Lindsey
Kildow, who powered to her second Val d'Isere downhill victory
on Wednesday, says she has built her success on growing
confidence.
Kildow, who beat team mate Julia Mancuso by 1.24 seconds,
made up for the mistakes she made in Tuesday's World Cup
downhill which was won by her compatriot.
"I knew where to go, I knew what to do and just executed my
plan," Kildow told Reuters.
"To me, this victory means more confidence. If I have a plan
and I stick to it I know that good things will come. I just have
to keep working hard," added Kildow, who comes from Vail,
Colorado.
"It was just kind of stupid, silly mistakes I made
yesterday. I was less confident than usual with only one
training run, especially when you don't finish it."
Kildow, who had a stomach bug over the weekend, could not
ski all the way down the Oreiller-Killy course in Monday's only
training run and finished third in Tuesday's race.
"If I'm not fast it is because I'm not confident. I know
what to do and have been working hard all my life," said Kildow,
who extended her lead in the World Cup downhill standings.
The 22-year-old American, who won here ahead of compatriot
Caroline Lalive last season, has 340 points with second-placed
Renate Goetschl of Austria 115 points adrift.
"It's a pretty good Christmas present," said Kildow, who has
now won two of the four downhills of the season and always
managed a podium finish.
"Now, I'm going to have some holiday and am looking forward
to racing again."