Federica Brignone continues to dominate in giant slalom, while Mikaela Shiffrin is still struggling to regain her form after a serious crash in November.
On Saturday, Brignone delivered a commanding performance, clocking the fastest times in both runs to secure a decisive World Cup victory and move closer to claiming her second overall title.
Shiffrin, however, did not finish her first run, losing control after approaching a right-hand turn too quickly.
Starting the second run as the leader, Brignone extended her advantage to 1.36 seconds over Alice Robinson, with Lara Colturi finishing third, 1.43 seconds behind. Despite her comfortable lead, Brignone pushed for even more speed and nearly crashed near the finish when both her skis briefly left the ground.
“It was a bit slippery. Then I made that mistake and thought, ‘Oh no, it’s over,’” she admitted.
Brignone has won every giant slalom she has finished this season, including a world championship gold medal last month. However, she also failed to complete three World Cup GS races.
Robinson remains ahead of Brignone in the giant slalom standings by 20 points, with only one race left on March 25 in Sun Valley, Idaho. “It’s an amazing battle,” Brignone said of her New Zealand rival. “She’s been on the podium in every race and is an incredible skier.”
At 34, Brignone is closing in on her second overall World Cup title. With Saturday’s victory earning her 100 points, she now leads defending champion Lara Gut-Behrami by 322 points.
Brignone’s latest triumph marks her 36th career World Cup win and her 21st since turning 30 a record in women’s World Cup skiing. By comparison, Lindsey Vonn won 15 races after turning 30, while Gut-Behrami has 12.
Sofia Goggia, still seeking her first GS podium in seven years, had a strong second run but lost control after carrying too much speed into a turn.
Meanwhile, Shiffrin has now entered three giant slaloms since suffering a severe puncture wound in her stomach during a crash in Killington, Vermont, over three months ago. Her results have been underwhelming: 25th place, failure to qualify for a second run, and now a “did not finish.”
However, Shiffrin has been dominant in slalom, the discipline in which she secured her record-breaking 100th World Cup victory two weeks ago. She will compete again on Sunday, while Brignone and Gut-Behrami will sit out the event.
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