AFP - Austrian Kathrin Zettel produced a storming slalom run to upstage American Lindsey Vonn and win gold in the super combined at the World Ski Championships here Friday.
   
Zettel, lying fifth fastest after the morning's downhill at 1.48 seconds, clocked a combined time of 2min 20.13sec down the testing Rhone-Alpes piste.
   
She finished 0.56sec ahead of Swiss teenager Lara Gut, who claimed silver after Vonn was disqualified for missing a gate.
   
Elisabeth Goergl, also of Austria, won bronze, 0.88sec off her compatriot's pace.
   
It was heartbreak for Vonn in her search for double gold after winning Tuesday's Super-G.
   
The American led after the downhill, 0.14sec up on 17-year-old Gut and 0.54sec ahead of Goergl, but did not look comfortable at the top of the slalom course and straddled a gate as she overcompensated on the icy run.
   
She recovered to record the second fastest time overall but was immediately disqualified.
   
The 22-year-old Zettel, currently lying fourth in overall World Cup standings, recorded the third fastest time over the slalom at 48.16sec, well ahead of her immediate rivals.
   
German slalom specialist Maria Riesch, who put in a remarkable showing having rebounded from a horror crash in downhill training on Thursday, finished fourth 1.54sec off the winning time.
   
Reigning world champion Anja Paerson of Sweden, however, did not even start the slalom after missing a gate in the downhill.
   
"It was really bad luck today," said Paerson, who dominated the 2007 worlds in Are but also crashed out of the Super-G here. "One of my skis was in line and the other went in the other direction.
   
"This bad luck is reflective of my world championships," she said, adding that she would have been yellow flagged if she had missed the gate or not because she was on piste when the previous racer had fallen.
   
"I know I can ski and be fast. I'm going to have to be positive. I need to work more and be stronger for the downhill on Sunday."