Italy’s Federica Brignone delivered a commanding performance at Sestriere, Italy, on Friday, February 21, securing victory in the Giant Slalom despite recovering from an illness.New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who led after the first run, finished in second place, while Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund who had just missed out on a podium at the World Championships, claimed third.The race was filled with dramatic moments, including strong performances from rising talents and unexpected mistakes from top contenders. Sestriere is part of the Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area which is one of the largest ski areas in Europe. The resort is hosting three days of racing this weekend, with two Giant Slalom races and one Slalom race. Today’s race replaced a December event at Tremblant in Quebec, Canada, that was canceled due to unsuitable weather conditions.
Run 1
Paula Moltzan in bib 1 opened the race at Sestriere. She managed to weave down smoothly in a continuously low crouch and set the pace at 1:06.87 minutes. Federica Brignone was next in bib 2 and managed to beat Moltzan with an aggressive run, crossing the finish line 0.64 seconds ahead of the American. Lara Gut-Behrami in bib 3 ended her bid for the podium with a DNF after missing a gate near the bottom roller. Zrinka Ljutic in bib 4 crossed the finish line 1.14 seconds behind Brignone, leaving a big gap for others to slide into.
Then it was Alice Robinson’s turn in bib 5, wearing the red leader’s bib. The New Zealand skier continued her incredible performance this year, snatching the lead from Brignone by 0.19 seconds. It proved to be the fastest Run 1 of the day, and not even seasoned Sara Hector in bib 6 could beat Robinson, finishing more than a second behind the Kiwi ski racer. Last of the top 7 skiers with the best starting positions was Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund, who finished just behind Hector in fifth place.
Mikaela Shiffrin started the race as the eighth skier. The American ski racer had admitted to struggling with some PTSD issues after her Killington crash and had not competed in Giant Slalom at the World Championships. It was her first Giant Slalom race today at Sestriere, and Shiffrin looked smooth at the top. She skied cautiously and not with her usual aggression but clearly needed a clean run to rebuild her confidence. She had a minor mistake that saw her skid out briefly, but she regained control and finished 2.89 seconds behind Robinson. While it was not her usual form, it surely helped regain faith in her ability, and it was enough to qualify for Run 2 with what was ultimately 18th place. Teammate AJ Hurt in bib 9 followed with a slightly less aggressive run than she had shown in the past but with clean technique, seeing her finish 1.85 seconds behind Robinson in 11th place.
Also qualifying from Team USA were Nina O’Brien, who placed a fantastic eighth, 1.6 seconds behind Robinson, while teammates Katie Hensien and Elizabeth Bocock qualified in 27th and 28th place.Meanwhile, Team Canada saw two of its four skiers qualify for Run 2, with Britt Richardson placing an impressive seventh and Valérie Grenier in 15th.
Run 2
Run 2 is conducted in reverse order with only the top 30 skiers qualifying from Run 1. Katie Hensien, who was the fourth starter, catapulted herself into the lead with a solid run. Unfortunately, her teammate Elisabeth Bocock before her had skidded out after a roller, which caught her unprepared, ending her bid for FIS points with a DNF. Ultimately, it was a solid 21st place for Hensien. Shiffrin skied into 25th place, while AJ Hurt finished in a fantastic 12th.
With faster skiers starting one after another, the leadership changed hands quickly at Sestriere. Naturally, it got really exciting once it came to the last 10 skiers. Sitting in the lead at that stage was Austria’s Julia Scheib. The 10th-last skier, Camille Rast, tied with Scheib with a combined time of 2:15.36 for both runs. Albania’s Lara Colturi was next, and the 18-year-old, who grew up just 15 minutes from Sestriere, snatched the lead from the duo in front of her family and friends by 0.46 seconds.
Then it was time for another young gun: Zrinka Ljutic. The 21-year-old Croatian, who has had a breakout season with three victories, skied into the lead 0.36 seconds ahead of Colturi. However, her time in the leader’s seat was short-lived, as Norway’s Stjernesund snatched the lead from her by 0.28 seconds. With four skiers left to go, a nail-biting wait awaited Stjernesund in the finisher’s seat.
Fourth-last skier Sara Hector had a 0.04-second lead on Stjernesund from Run 1 but could not hang on to her advantage, giving back time on each section and finishing behind not just Stjernesund but also Ljutic.
Third-last skier was the USA’s Paula Moltzan, who had a 0.24-second lead on Stjernesund from Run 1. Moltzan looked strong on the top section, extending her lead to more than half a second with an aggressive run. She built her advantage to 0.73 seconds going into the lower section but then got caught with her hand on a gate, causing her to overrotate. This mistake cost her the lead, and the American finished a disappointing 0.44 seconds behind Stjernesund.
The second-last skier, Federica Brignone, flew out of the gates with smooth aggression. Brignone extended her lead on Stjernesund to over a second. With a 1.33-second lead by the mid-section, the Italian was impossible to beat despite recovering from the flu. She extended her lead to 1.57 seconds and took over the leader’s seat by a huge margin.
Her time seemed almost unbeatable, and only Alice Robinson was left to challenge her. Robinson had a 0.19-second lead on Brignone from Run 1 and extended it to 0.26 seconds on the top section. She skied into the mid-section with controlled turns but gave back time, trailing by 0.29 seconds. The New Zealand skier pushed hard towards the bottom but could not quite match Brignone’s momentum, finishing 0.40 seconds behind the Italian.
It was an exciting race day at Sestriere, and the competition will continue with another Giant Slalom tomorrow, Saturday, February 22.
