VAL D'ISERE, France — Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany won the giant slalom at the world championships on Thursday after the favorites faltered.

Hoelzl timed 2 minutes, 3.49 seconds over two runs down the steep Bellevarde course. Tina Maze of Slovenia finished second, 0.09 seconds behind, and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland was third.

American Lindsey Vonn, the worlds Super-G and downhill champion, sat out as she recovers from surgery on her right thumb. Vonn cut herself on a champagne bottle while celebrating her victory in the downhill on Monday.

The 24-year-old Hoelzl has never won on the World Cup tour, with her best finish second in a giant slalom in 2007. She was fourth after the opening run, 0.68 seconds behind leader Kathrin Zettel of Austria.

"When I looked at the time I thought it would be enough for a medal but not the gold," Hoelzl said. "I just let my skis run."

Zettel, who won the super-combi last week, made a big mistake at the beginning of her second run and finished sixth. Poutiainen was second after the first leg but took a few wide turns in her second trip down.

Maze moved up from 15th after the opening leg with the fastest second run. Her coach set the course for the second run.