Poutiainen powers to win

Kostelic, who learned to ski on the slopes of Mount Sljeme which was hosting Croatia's first World Cup race, straddled a gate just 17 seconds into her run.

The triple Olympic champion skied slowly down the course before stopping and collapsing in the snow in tears.

"I still don't understand what took place on the course," the 23-year-old said.

"How I could straddle a gate is incredible as I was so comfortable and skiing so well."

"I still have tears. I'm really disappointed and sorry. I'm especially disappointed for my fans who came here hoping I would do well," added Kostelic, who stayed to watch the second leg from the slopes.

Poutiainen, third after the first run, was off the pace on the second leg but made up time on the last part of the floodlit course to win in one minute 50.71 seconds and regain the lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Kristina Koznick of the United States was second in 1:50.78 and Austrian Marlies Schild, the first leg leader, finished third in 1:51.19 after slipping early on her second run.

"It was a perfect way for me to come back from taking a break at home," said Poutiainen.

"It was a tactical race for me. On the first run I didn't attack fully as lots of people had problems with the challenging terrain.

"To be within a few hundredths of a second (of the leader) was good as I knew I had the strength for the second run and my plan turned out perfectly," added the 24-year-old.

It was the technical specialist's fourth World Cup win of the season. She heads the overall standings with 806 points, eight more than Austrian Renate Goetschl, who did not ski in Croatia. Kostelic, the overall champion in 2001 and 2003, dropped to third on 789 points.

Poutiainen also increased her lead at the top of the slalom standings to 460 points ahead of Schild on 340 while Koznick moves above Kostelic into third with 310.

Kostelic, who missed last season because of knee injuries and surgery to remove her thyroid gland, was not the only big name to falter during the race which was skied on artificial snow. Austrian Elisabeth Goergl, Germany's Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer and her compatriot Annemarie Gerg all failed to finish the first leg.

Defending overall champion Anja Paerson, who was greeted with a chorus of boos from the crowd, made a mistake and although she finished the course the Swede did not qualify for the second run.