Women raced in Italian Sestriere this weekend while men tackled the Swiss Crans Montana slope. While women praised the conditions in the Piedmont region, the male downhill specialists complained of the slope being too easy. With downhill, the easier it is, the harder it is to be fast.
Most skiers continued to prove the form they brought from the World Championships. But one skier got from her deepest valley to the highest peak.
Women Technical Races in Sestriere
The Italian venue hosted three races, two giant slaloms and one slalom.
Friday
The giant slalom races were a celebration of Federica Brignone (ITA). On Friday, Alice Robinson (NEZ) was phenomenal in the first run. In her pre-race interview, she shared that she rather enjoys her position as a favorite.
“If I crumble under the pressure, then what is the point,” she said in the interview for Eurosport TV. And as she said, she did, with only Brignone coming close. The third Paula Molztan (USA) was also excellent, but her result in the second run did not live up to the expectations.
In the second run, Thea Louise Stjernesund (NOR) managed to fit onto the podium, finishing third. Federica Brignone did not give anybody any chance with a fantastic second run, and Alice Robinson had to be happy with third place.
Brignone caught a respiratory infection in Saalbach and spent most of the week in bed gulping oxygen but jumped right into the best form on race day. In this context, her performance is even more inspiring.
- Related post: Preview: The Show Goes On In Crans Montana and Sestriere
Saturday
A similar script was played in the Saturday giant slalom. Once again, Alice Robinson dominated the first run, but not by that considerable margin. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) was only 0,06 seconds behind her, and surprisingly, Canada’s Britt Richardson (last year’s Junior World Champion) was only 0,07 seconds back.
The 21-year-old Richardson did not manage to hold her nerves in the second run, getting a DNF, but proved that great things could be expected of her in the future. Brignone attacked from the fourth place, performing just another phenomenal run to claim gold. Alice Robinson had to be happy with the third position as Lara Gut-Behrami managed to get a second position. This result, however, allowed Robinson to keep her red bib for the giant slalom tour leader. As we are nearing the end of the tour, calculations will start, and every point will be tactically important.
Italy’s Sofia Goggia’s two races were also remarkable. The speed queen seems to genuinely enjoy the giant slalom competition, not taking it as technical training for her speed performance. On Saturday, she finished fourth, not far from the podium.
Mikaela Shiffrin looked unhappy in both giant slalom races. That meant that her Sunday record-breaking run was all the more thrilling experience.
Sunday
The slalom race opened up with a nasty crash of the slalom tour leader Camille Rast (SUI), who is luckily unharmed. Katharina Liensberger (AUT) and Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) were second and first when Shiffrin left the start gate. After a disappointing Saturday, when she even failed to qualify for the second run, little was expected of her, but she proved all her critics wrong and positioned herself firmly into the red chair, where she remained for the rest of the first run.
In the second run, Paula Molztan made one big mistake but did not allow that to get into her head, and got the lead and was overcome only by Zrinka Ljutic.
And then came Shiffrin, undoubtedly feeling once again the pressure of the hundredth victory on her shoulders with a mere 0,09-second gap on Ljutic.
She was flying down with fans cheering frantically, building on her lead, and as she arrived, she would not believe her eyes falling to the ground with relief. Paula Molztan hugged her friend as they shared the podium, and the two skiers brought unforgettable images to the media.
Speed Races in Crans Montana
Saturday
The downhill day in Switzerland belonged to the Swiss, which is a fact that the rest of the field needs to come to terms with lately. After a solid run by Florian Schieder (ITA), Alexis Monney (SUI) took the lead and waited. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) could not depose him. Neither could anybody else until the Swiss team leader started. Marco Odermatt showed the youngster what a clean run looked like and was 0,39 seconds faster than Monney.
But his joy was short-lived because another Swiss youngster, Franjo Von Allmen, showed that in downhill he is unbeatable at the moment. Von Allmen was 0,13 seconds faster than Odermatt. And that was it, Swiss clean sweep with Von Allmen, Odermatt, and Monney sharing raclette in the post-race interviews and having fun.
However, they had to tune the party down this time because Sunday was yet another race day.
Sunday
Franjo Von Allmen performed his usual crazy run, but the track was getting faster with every racer. First to overcome him was the Norwegian Adrian Smiseth Sejersted, who is in fine form after his solid World Championships performance. Then, the Italians Mattia Casse and, most notably, Dominik Paris proved even faster. This track suited the Italians well, as Paris remained on the podium, and even the veteran Christoph Innerhofer only nearly missed the top 10 later.
But with bib number 15, Mister Super-G, Marco Odermatt showed that this is his discipline and performed just another super-light and super-fast run. Alexis Monney, with bib number 19, was faster than Paris, ensuring that at least two Swiss fitted on the podium this time.
For Marco Odermatt, this was his 45th World Cup win, which placed him sixth on the male winners’ list. So, he has a long way to go on this record-breaking journey.
As the youngsters in his team seem to be chasing him to go even faster, we can expect more in the future.
