From Shiffrin to Vlhova, from the blue dream to Gut-Behrami: let's make the cards for the next women's cup

In just over a week the opening in Soelden: here is our presentation with all the favorites for each crystal ball, starting from the general that sees the American favorite in front of Vlhova, but also Brignone and Goggia (and who knows also Bassino ) running for something important. With Gut-Behrami ready to scratch and the usual stellar challenge in giant ...

Friday 14 October 2022 34 minutes reading time

A women's World Cup with a great favorite for the personal five and bring less than 1 from the legend Annemarie Moser-Proell, but also many credible rivals for Mikaela Shiffrin, once again the most awaited woman of the season. Minus 8 in Soelden, to the giant with which the girls will open on the Rettenbach, and like every year we make the cards for the cup season, proposing the favorites for the general classification and for each of the crystal balls up for grabs. First of all, let's start from the calendar: last year the FIS proposed the "revolution" (more marked for men than for the female sector) of the parity of competitions by specialty, but for 2022/23 it will not change much, if not for the '' increase of trials, 42 in total, with 11 slaloms, 11 descents, 10 giants, 9 super-gs and the parallel of Lech / Zuers. We return to Sestriere and Spindleruv Mlyn, skip Val d''Isère in the year of the World Cup in France, there is the great news of a Kvitfjell all for women at the beginning of March (in addition to the well-known "Speed Opening" of Zermatt-Cervinia in November) and the finals will be in Soldeu. GENERAL: ALL HUNTING FOR MIKAELA Shiffrin, we said: back to raise the absolute crystal ball after two years of fasting, without winning specialty cups, the American ''95 class, now to be considered in all respects a veteran if we think who conquered the first podium in the maximum circuit almost 11 years ago, can count on the maximum performance in three disciplines. In super-g, in fact, Mikaela has shown that she can fight for the podium on practically every track, confirming after her optimal summer-autumn preparation that we will see her again at speed, while sipping the downhill appearances instead. In 2021/22 1493 points were enough to triumph, making the difference between downhill and super-g at the Courchevel finals, maybe this year something more will be needed but, with over 30 races available, the potential of the 27-year-old from Edwards is almost infinite. Will Petra Vlhova be able to stay close to her? If at the beginning of last season the same coach (confirmed) of the Slovakian, the Ticino-born Mauro Pini, spoke clearly of the desire to aim for the Olympic medals by sacrificing some commitments in the World Cup, starting with the super-g, it is clear that this '' year the winner of the 2020/21 cup will have to be seen up front in speed, having the qualities to compete in certain contexts. If in slalom Petra now knows she can beat her direct rival even with a certain consistency, the points that could dance the most are those in giant slalom, where the Olympic slalom champion has had too many ups and downs in the last year. . Behind Shiffrin and Vlhova, on the third step of the podium of the last CdM concluded Federica Brignone: the Aosta Valley is certainly the most versatile of the blue who can fight for the "coppone", at 32 she reached an enviable competitive maturity but fill those 400 points paid by the top last season will not be easy. In reality, Fede got off to a bad start in the giant, then she was almost perfect between the wide doors and in the super-g, where she happened to win the specialty cup, from mid-December onwards. It remains to understand how to manage the downhill commitments: there will be 11 of them and they could make a positive difference in a comparison with Shiffrin and Vlhova, who will miss several. Descent which of course is Sofia Goggia's strong point; yes, the rider from Bergamo should be considered among the top five favorites for the World Cup dream, on the other hand just think of the position in which she was at the moment of the first fall of Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, when between the Austrian stage and the next one in Cortina , the counter-overtake on Shiffrin and Vlhova was more than likely. In the queen discipline, the blue can collect a lot, but once again it will be the super-g, more than the giant where the chances of fighting for the top five are reduced to a few appointments (not surprisingly, Sofia will miss Soelden thinking about the speed opening), to decide the fate of Goggia. Last year he started very well, with the victories of Lake Louise and Val d''Isère, then we know what happened. If in the 2022 cup the final fourth place went to Ragnhild Mowinckel, who found himself on the three disciplines after all the injuries suffered and certainly dangerous on the dry races, but hardly in contention for an overall classification, who can challenge Shiffrin, Vlhova and the blue, are two Swiss veterans from winning an Olympic gold each, in super-g and in combined. The first is Lara Gut-Behrami, who from the giant to the descent can win anywhere: a little bit of everything happened to the Ticino last year, but she can aim for her second World Cup which she already touched in 2021, folded by Petra Vlhova . Michelle Gisin, on the other hand, could not play it from the start, with that form of mononucleosis that conditioned her for months. The bi Olympic champion certainly does not have the chances of winning in individual races of some rivals, on the other hand so far she has triumphed only once in slalom in Semmering (December 2020), but from slalom to downhill she can collect heavy points, despite being called to dose the commitments with such a calendar. She has changed materials and seems to have made an excellent approach to the new season: already in Soelden it will be very interesting to understand her level in the giant, a specialty in which she was fabulous in 2020/21. Marta Bassino finished tenth, 820 points behind Shiffrin, in the 2021/22 cup: given that what counts is the right for the Cuneo-based woman, who has experienced a fairly complicated season, before finding herself great in "her" giant, with series podiums to close even if the icing on the cake of the return to success was missing. The first goal for the parallel world champion will therefore be the specialty cup between the wide doors, but we will always see it in super-g and sometimes downhill, essentially putting aside the slalom in a definitive way. It seems to us the correct choice and the top five of the general is absolutely within reach. Sara Hector and Tessa Worley, very close to each other both in the absolute ranking of last season, concluded respectively in 7th and 8th place, and in that of giant with the transalpine who then mocked the dominant Swede up to the Olympics (included), they are clearly “mono discipline” in terms of heavy points, even if the Scandinavian has grown a lot in slalom and the leader of the Equipe de France knows how to hit in some super-g. Too little, probably, to think of playing something big. Switzerland can also bet strongly on Corinne Suter and Wendy Holdener: the two athletes from the Canton of Schwyz were forced to start running last year after their respective injuries, to then take away their satisfactions in five circles, but in both cases it is likely that one, Suter, can aim directly for the downhill cup by challenging Goggia again, who "contained" her in the final rush in Courchevel after Corinne had won the Olympic title in front of the rider from Bergamo, and the other, Wendy, in that slalom ranking always and only dreamed of, as well as the first victory between the narrow poles in CdM, really cursed for her. And then again, perhaps for a top ten final, in general we point out Ramona Siebenhofer, Elena Curtoni (with the Valtellinese who will aim above all for the super-g cup, after last year's podium), Katharina Liensberger, who between slalom and giant is very dangerous for anyone and has closed in the five in 2020/21, Camille Rast and maybe Alice Robinson, if she will be able to return to her giant levels and will confirm a certain feeling with the super-g where, in flashes, the young New Zealander has already done see great things. DESCENT: SOFIA AND ... THE OTHER Four victories in the first five specialty races, with the only "stumbling" in the Altenmarkt-Zauchensee descent ending up in the nets, then that cursed super-g of Cortina and Sofia Goggia risked see compromised the race to the third World Cup in the queen discipline, however brought home with a thousand sufferings. It is clear that the 29-year-old Italian speed star starts as a great favorite for the crystal ball again this year, with the novelty of the "Speed Opening" of Zermatt-Cervinia that convinced Sofia to focus directly on the first two descents of the season (5-6 November), sacrificing the Soelden giant. With eleven appointments on the calendar, there is also room for some “goggiata”, which can be remedied in terms of points even if there are rivals, given that Corinne Suter and Breezy Johnson propose themselves to the starting gate this season in good condition. The reigning Olympic champion, who suffered a very bad fall in training 13 months ago and only really found herself in January, is perhaps the main candidate to challenge Goggia, with her exceptional qualities in the sliding sections that can make a difference especially in slopes, as the “Gran Becca” itself seems to be in the shadow of the Matterhorn, a little simpler. The American, who is still waiting to win her first World Cup race, has a few more unknowns after the knee injury that forced her to lose the Olympic Games, but has been working well for a few weeks now too. on the snow. If Lara Gut-Behrami must always be considered a danger even in this discipline, even if she pays something in several tracks compared to pure specialists, the big question mark concerns Ester Ledecka. Between a summer injury and the change of materials, with the move to Kaestle, the Pragese could only aim for a few appointments, first and foremost World Championship, even if the dream of the downhill cup is always in her mind. Ramona Siebenhofer (4 ^ just behind Ledecka in the 2021/22 specialty ranking) and Mirjam Puchner are the two references of Austria, where, however, also Conny Huetter can do very well, in second place also Scheyer and Venier, and the rebirth is expected by Ortlieb and Schmidhofer. Switzerland, in addition to Suter, Gut-Behrami and on several occasions to Gisin, can rely on Haehlen, Nufer and Flury, Germany is betting everything on Kira Weidle, Norway on Mowinckel (waiting for the return of Kajsa Vickhoff Lie), and Italy will not be only Goggia. Yes, because the Nadia Delago admired in recent months is from the podium, the one that the young girl from Val Gardena achieved on the most important day with the Olympic bronze, but her sister Nicol, after a season of post-injury adaptation, can see herself again in front of her as, on the more technical tracks, Elena Curtoni and Laura Pirovano can do it, with the thirty on the track after a whole year of stop. SUPER-G: SO MUCH BLUE, BUT GUT AND SHIFFRIN ARE SCARED It is the bluest discipline of all, if we think of the Brignone-Curtoni brace in the final classification of the last cup, albeit with the Olympic disappointment in the middle. The continuity of results of Rulfi's squadron in every technical context leads us to think that the Aosta Valley and the Valtellinese will still be there to play for it, as will Goggia (until his injury, the specialty podium was all tricolor) while, probably, they will be able to bet to some "stage shots" Bassino and Pirovano, who can do very well. There are two main rivals of Team Italy: we are talking about Mikaela Shiffrin and Lara Gut-Behrami. The American finished third (a breath away from Curtoni), showing a disarming continuity while not winning, given that the last seal in a super-g dates back to Bansko 2020, before Mikaela's long stop after the death of her father. The Swiss champion crowned his career with Olympic gold in his favorite discipline, after having already won three World Cups: Gut-Behrami and Brignone are the two references of the super-g, with the blue who stopped the streak winner of the Ticino in Val di Fassa, a year and a half ago, before a little bit of everything happened to Lara last season. It promises to be a really beautiful confrontation. A step below the aforementioned athletes, but definitely in the running at least for the final podium, there could be Ragnhild Mowinckel who, triumphing in the super-g of the finals in Courchevel, concluded the season of his sporting rebirth. And then a lot of Austria with a desire for redemption, from Tamara Tippler who is the current best specialist in the Wunderteam, to Raedler (who can still level up after the podium in Zauchensee), Puchner (on the Olympic podium, albeit in a context particular), Huetter, Siebenhofer and Venier. Suter, Haehlen and Gisin are the other arrows available to Switzerland, Miradoli (who won for the first time in Lenzerheide a few months ago with an authentic masterpiece, on the toughest slopes is very fearsome) and Worley for France, while the splinters went crazy , mainly for single hits, they should be Vlhova, Ledecka and Robinson. GIANT: STELLAR LEVEL, AT LEAST 7 FOR THE CUP ... For years now, it has been the discipline with the greatest battle and a truly exceptional level among women. Who would have predicted Sara Hector authentic dominator of the season, until the conquest of Olympic gold, after the opening of Soelden 2021? Few, then that the Swede has lost on the wire, with that fall that caused a knee problem in the penultimate race of Are, the specialty cup in favor of Tessa Worley, little changes in the judgment on the amazing year lived. However, it is not certain that Hector and Worley are the favorites for the specialty trophy, to which at least seven champions could compete. How to exclude Mikaela Shiffrin, despite the disappointment of that last heat in Méribel which cost the US star the second cup of discipline of his career? The same can be said for Petra Vlhova, although perhaps the Slovakian starts a step below if we look at the trend of recent times. And then there are Federica Brignone and Marta Bassino: the "tiger" has returned to rejoice in the wide doors after more than two years, winning the race of the last finals, the Cuneo-based of Borgo San Dalmazzo four times in 2020/21 of the Coppa del World conquered, returning to the podium consistently in the final of last year. They will start among the big favorites in Soelden as Lara Gut-Behrami, even if the Ticino is out of the first sub-group after the problems of last season, which began with a 2nd place on Rettenbach where she has always found herself wonderfully. Michelle Gisin has the quality to constantly fight in the podium area, Wendy Holdener and Katharina Liensberger focus more on slalom, but have also worked a lot on the giant. In Switzerland there is also Camille Rast, finally exploded, in Austria also Truppe and Siebenhofer, even if for the top it is another speech that, hopefully, can involve a great talent like Stephanie Brunner, in search of that continuity that she has been missing for years (also and above all due to injuries). He will start in the 7 Ragnhild Mowinckel, but from behind we cannot underestimate Grenier, Gasienica-Daniel, the other Norwegians Stjernesund and Holtmann (who changed materials), maybe even Meta Hrovat recovering from the injury last March that will probably force the Slovenian to skip the opening. And then Gritsch, dominant in the European Cup, Robinson finished far from the top 15 but with enormous potential to return to expressing, O''Brien also returning after the very bad injury at the Olympics, Slokar (even if the focus is on the slalom) and maybe some blue who can consistently approach 30. Roberta Melesi and Karoline Pichler are two athletes already with some experience and, without Goggia and Curtoni behind Brignone and Bassino in Soelden, they will have to prove that they can do another breakthrough. SLALOM: VLHOVA-SHIFFRIN, SWITZERLAND AND ... LIENSBERGER Always them, Petra Vlhova and Mikaela Shiffrin. They are the dominatrixes of the last decade or so in the discipline, with the American reached and overcome in recent seasons, even if the differences are really minimal and the best Shiffrin has not yet been seen in the tight posts from the beginning of 2020 to today. Challenge to two then for the specialty cup? It is not certain, because the reigning world champion and winner of the slalom ranking in 2021, Katharina Liensberger, is scary and with the change of the technical guide, since the OESV has made Livio Magoni available to her, she will try to constantly return at the top that he still found in the second part of the 2021/22 season, from the Olympic silver to the victory (the third in his career) by Are. Then there is the Swiss couple formed by Michelle Gisin and Wendy Holdener, a guarantee to always fight in the podium area, even if the crystal ball risks remaining a mirage since for partial victories it will be very hard. Last year a surprising Lena Duerr got on the final podium, who at over 30 years of age has made an impressive leap in quality, touching several times the first success in CdM and even the Olympic medal (she was in the lead after the 1st heat at the Games) . Until that incredible 3-door fall from the end of the slalom in Kranjska Gora which was delivering her first victory in the maximum circuit, before the covid, the injuries and a problematic return, Anna Swenn-Larsson seemed really close to the great ones, but last season the Swede always lacked something. In Sweden, pay attention also to Sara Hector, who is not satisfied only with the giant (in Yanqing she literally threw away a possible resounding gold encore by forking on the final wall), but also to the very young Hanna Aronsson Elfman. Slovenia proposes Bucik and above all Slokar, ready for the definitive leap, while it is only a matter of time for what we have seen in recent months, for the entry in the 15 and maybe even in the first starting sub-group (which makes all the difference in the world in slalom) by Camille Rast. Austria is certainly not experiencing an exciting moment in the discipline and is clinging to Huber, Mair and Trouppe, having already lost for the entire season Gallhuber to a Crusader injury. From Norway the focus is on Lysdahl, Holtmann and Tviberg, from the North American nations Moltzan and Nullmeyer on all, but also the redemption of St-Germain in Canada. From the east, instead, the wind of Popovic and Dubovska blows, to try to find consistency in the top ten, but there are many young women who can find space up front. We think of Danioth, Aicher, Ljutic and, hopefully, also a little blue in the discipline of greatest suffering for the Italian national team. Martina Peterlini, who lost almost all of last season due to a knee crash in Valle Aurina, will need time and was in her thirties the card to enter the top 15, considering that precisely the injuries to the crusader, which had hit the colleagues in the previous season, they slowed the growth of Lara Della Mea and Marta Rossetti.With this trio, we will also constantly see Tschurtschenthaler, Viviani, Gulli and, hopefully soon, from the European Cup the very young ones, Mathiou and Sola in the first place .

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