As usual, the Stelvio track in Bormio confirmed its scary reputation, with many athletes ending up in severe conditions and more minor crashes that made the spectators stop breathing nonetheless. On the other hand, the ladies enjoyed near-perfect conditions in the tiny Austrian resort of Semmering.
Semmering: Both Emerging and Established Stars Shine Bright
With Mikaela Shiffrin out due to injury points were free for the taking, and both established and emerging stars used their opportunity to shine.
The weekend’s events unfolded under fine weather conditions, with enough snow to make the surface sufficiently firm for ladies´ races.
Italy’s Federica Brignone captured her 29th World Cup victory in the giant slalom on Saturday. Brignone’s combined time of 2:03.14 minutes secured her a convincing win, with Sweden’s Sara Hector taking second place, 0.57 seconds behind, and New Zealand’s Alice Robinson rounding out the podium in third, trailing by 0.90 seconds. This victory confirmed Brignone´s dominance in the discipline that she first manifested in the opener in Sölden this season. Furthermore, the hundred points she acquired in Semmering put her firmly on the top of giant slalom rankings.
Sunday’s slalom races added another layer of excitement as Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic celebrated her first-ever World Cup victory in style. Ljutic’s aggressive yet controlled skiing earned her a commanding lead, with a final time of 1:43.33 minutes and an impressive margin of 1.75 seconds over Germany’s Lena Dürr, who finished second. Ljutic has been knocking on the door of victory for some time now and has only confirmed that the future of ski sports is safe, with youngsters in all disciplines taking podiums and even victories lately.
Austria’s Katharina Liensberger delighted the home crowd with a strong third-place finish and confirmed her steadily rising form this season. While Ljutic’s breakthrough performance stole the spotlight, Switzerland’s Camille Rast quietly defended her lead in both the overall and slalom World Cup standings, finishing fourth and keeping her red bib for another race.
Bormio: Victories Overshadowed by Tragedies
The races in Bormio started with a scary and tragic overture, as one of the favorites for the downhill, Cyprien Sarazzin (FRA), crashed during the second official training and was transported to hospital. Here, the doctors discovered a subdural hematoma under his scull (adding to injured ankle and vertebrae), put him to sleep, and operated right away. This training also caused two more athletes, Pietro Zazzi (ITA) and Josua Mettler (SUI), to be driven home with season-ending injuries. The downhill day did not take such a toll. However, the super-G featured 16 DNFs, with Gino Caviezel (SUI) being transported by helicopter to the hospital and ending with knee and shoulder injuries.
Now, to the more entertaining news. Many athletes complained about the course preparation, and the FIS defended the organizers, saying that the aggressive equipment was at fault, but these discussions did not stop the youngsters from using their recklessness and stealing both victories of the weekend. The Swiss superstar in the making, Franjo Von Allmen, who had been reaching for gold in Val Gardena, thought he had finally reached the top when his young colleague, Alexis Monney, with bib number 19, stole the prize.
At moments, the downhill resembled a Swiss championship, with Marco Odermatt ending fifth and Justin Murisier sixth. Odermatt demonstrated why his fans love him so much. At one point in the race, he performed a life-saving recovery, which, however, made his air vest go off. He did not complain about the equipment, laughed at it, congratulated his teammate in the red chair, and went to cheer on his other teammates.
Third place went to Cameron Alexander from Canada, who also showed spectacular form this year.
High-speed crashes overshadowed the super-g, we have seen the airbags go off more often than ever, and as Gino Caviezel crashed with bib number one, doubt must have crept into the minds of the bravest of the athletes. Another youngster, Fredrik Moeller (NOR), claimed the red chair with bib number 4 and remained comfortably seated in it for the rest of the race, although worry always marked his features as star after star tried to steal his maiden win.
Austria´s Vincent Kriechmayr finally broke the course and managed to nail the podium. Kriechmayr is one of the best and most experienced super-g racers on tour; he just seems to have lost his will to win lately, maybe due to the pressure of the demanding Austrian media and fans. Hopefully, the second place from the scary Bormio will make him enjoy skiing more during the rest of the season. Third place went to Alexis Monney, who had bib number 27 and scared Moeller with his brilliant and fearless skiing.
The speed specialists now have a week free to lick their wounds, calm their enthusiasm, or gather up their ruffled self-confidence as the technicians meet in Madonna Campiglio and Adelboden. Ladies will challenge the demanding giant slalom slope course of Kranjska Gora over the weekend.
