For once, Lindsey Vonn was satisfied with being second best.

The American star couldn't overcome Italian veteran Daniela Merighetti in a World Cup downhill yesterday, but because of the tricky winds on the Olympia delle Tofane course she loves, she didn't believe she could have done any better.

Now she's preparing for an early wake-up call before Sunday's super-G, setting her alarm at 4 a.m. to cheer on the Denver Broncos in the NFL playoffs.

Last weekend in Bad Kleinkircheim, Austria, Vonn struggled with a stomach illness and uncharacteristically missed the podium in two speed races. This performance marked a complete turnaround.

"I felt great again, my energy is back to normal and I'm able to do what I want on my skis and that's definitely not the feeling I had on my skis last week," Vonn said.

"Today you needed to ski well but also have a bit of luck with the wind. It was constantly changing and right out of the start I got some really bad wind and it was swirling and I couldn't really see the first gate."

Vonn has traditionally been successful in Cortina, where she has five victories and 11 previous podium finishes.

"But when you have conditions like this in any event you could be last — easily," Vonn said. "So you have to be happy when you're on the podium and I definitely am."

Vonn increased her lead in the overall and downhill standings. She's 244 points ahead of Austrian slalom specialist Marlies Schild in the overall standings and 127 points in front of Austria's Elisabeth Goergl in the downhill rankings.