Brem holds commanding lead after 1st run of World Cup GS

JASNA, Slovakia (AP) Eva-Maria Brem of Austria built a commanding lead in the opening run of a women's World Cup giant slalom on Monday.

In light snowfall, Brem finished 0.77 seconds ahead of Lara Gut of Switzerland while the rest of the field was more than a second off the pace.

Winning the race would give Brem a chance to lock up the GS title with a race to spare. She leads Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany by 32 points, and Gut by 80. Rebensburg was 1.96 behind in 12th after the first run.

In the overall standings, Gut will overtake leader Lindsey Vonn if she finishes ninth or better. The four-time champion from the United States ended her season last week because of a left knee injury.