Maria Riesch wins World Cup overall crown

LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland, March 19 (UPI) -- Maria Riesch of Germany was declared the winner of the women's overall Alpine World Cup points race Saturday when the last race of the season was canceled.

Riesch edged her longtime rival Lindsey Vonn of the United States by just three points for the first overall title of her career while Tina Maze of Slovenia placed third.

Vonn lost her last chance to regain the lead she had lost earlier in the week. Race officials in Switzerland canceled Saturday's final giant slalom due to fog and poor snow conditions. The race will not be made up.

Vonn congratulated Riesch on her season but admitted she was disappointed she didn't get a final chance to win the fourth overall title of her career. "I'm proud of defending the downhill, super-G and super-combined titles and I was ready to fight for what could have been a record fourth overall," she said. "The cancellation of this race doesn't just hurt me; it hurts the fans and the sport of ski racing as a whole."

Saturday's cancellation also clinched the giant slalom title for Viktoria Rebensburg. Tessa Worley of France was second and Finland's Tanja Poutianen took third.