By USSA

VAL D’ISERE, France — Lindsey Vonn (Vail) positioned herself on the doorstep to history Dec. 20, winning her 61 career Audi FIS Ski World Cup with a 0.19 second victory in the Val d’Isere downhill. It left her just one win away from matching the all-time win record held by the legendary Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell.

Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg and Austria’s Elisabeth Goergl tied for second.

Starting 13, Goergl set the pace to beat. Vonn came down 20, skiing aggressively and making a few mistakes — but staying ahead of the Austrian the entire way down the Oreiller-Killy course. Rebensburg, coming down later, was the only one to challenge Vonn and settled for the second place tie.

It was only Vonn’s fourth race back since a series of knee surgeries. She has won two of the three downhills she’s skied, and moved out of a tie with Tina Maze to takeover the Audi FIS Ski World Cup downhill lead.

Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley) was 15, with Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 18.