COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Her damaged knee has healed, and so has her mind.
Just nine months after major knee surgery, France's Regine Cavagnoud is back winning ski races, a habit she started last January.Cavagnoud skied to a narrow victory over Italy's Karen Putzer in a women's World Cup giant slalom on Friday. A women's slalom was scheduled for today.
"I have a lot of reasons to feel so much emotion," Cavagnoud said after being hugged by teammates. "To come back so soon, it shows that hard work pays off.
"I had never won a World Cup race, and now to win three within a year is a very great feeling. I tried to be mentally strong during my rehabilitation. I knew I could win again as soon as my body was ready. This win puts me back on track and gives me confidence."
Cavagnoud's first two victories of her career -- a downhill and super-G in Cortina, Italy, came last January -- but on Feb. 2 she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during downhill training at the World Championships.
She didn't resume training until she felt completely ready, in late August. In the season's opening race, a giant slalom at Tignes, France, on Oct. 31, she finished 13th in an event won by Switzerland's Sonja Nef.
On Friday, Cavagnoud paced the first run of the giant slalom, then maintained her position despite posting only the 21st-fastest time in the second run.
A 10-year World Cup veteran who never finished higher than fourth in giant slalom, Cavagnoud had a combined time of 2 minutes, 0.84 seconds, beating Putzer by .07 seconds.
Cavagnoud, 29, began the second run with a lead of .43 seconds over Austria's Michaela Dorfmeister.
Putzer, 21, rallied from sixth place after the first run to record her best career finish.
"At Tignes, I had a strong first run and then skied out in the second run," Putzer said. "Today, I wanted to finish. I had a little mistake on my first run, and I knew I could do better, so I did it. I'm not too upset losing by seven-hundredths."
Dorfmeister wound up third -- her best GS finish ever -- in 2:01.06 on a relatively flat course that favored downhillers. "It was a big advantage for the speed skier," she said. "It was not so turny, and it had gliding sections."
Sweden's Anja Paerson took fourth in 2:01.12, coming all the way from 24th after the initial heat by posting the quickest second run (59.65).