Alpine Skiingwomen's world cup
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It was a very complicated start to the World Cup for two of the favorites in the crystal ball, now with an already very important gap compared to Shiffrin. For the Ticinese, the Swiss-Ski director, Walter Reusser, turns off the alarm; the Aosta Valley in training in Courmayeur to prepare the two giants in Austria.
Wednesday 21 December 2022 6 minutes reading time
If Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova started ahead of everyone in the predictions for the general classification of the 2022/23 CDM, with a Sofia Goggia so dominant in the downhill that, as demonstrated last season until the injury in Cortina, she may have the possibility of to enter, in the fight for the most important trophy, two champions were expected which are Lara Gut-Behrami and Federica Brignone.
Well, after 12 races out of the 39 scheduled (4 downhills, 2 super-g, 2 giants and 4 slaloms), the gap of the red cross is 321 points from the leader Shiffrin (7th place for Lara) and that of the blue 421 lengths (Fede is 18th); in essence, with eight technical races (including 4 slalom) on the horizon, it seems very complicated to think of their return to the great challenge.
Gut-Behrami had started very well, debuting with a bang in Killington on the day in which the Ticino girl found success again in a giant of CDM over 6 years after the last time in Soelden; then, something went wrong in the two speed triptychs, with two very difficult descents in Lake Louise and the super-g outing, when he was traveling to fight for first place. In her favorite discipline, of which she is also the reigning Olympic champion, Lara however disappointed in Sankt Moritz, eighth without ever giving the sensation of being in the running for victory. In fact, only the 7th place in giant slalom in Sestriere represented a good race, certainly giving confidence in the double appointment in Semmering.
The technical director of Swiss-Ski, Walter Reusser, speaking to the "Blick" underlined the difficulties of the star from Comano in the flatter sections, where he really lost a lot in all the descents and also in super-g, explaining however that " sometimes you just need to change the slightest detail on the wrong side to get worse, but don't panic because Lara is fit and skiing well, these are the most important parameters. I am convinced that he will draw the right conclusions and find solutions with the experienced people in his team."
As far as Federica Brignone is concerned, there is no better medicine than work, on the other hand we know how meticulous training is for the champion from La Salle, who has lost a lot of preparation for the accused summer problem. Since the beginning of the week, Fede has been back on the snow a stone's throw from home, in Courmayeur, thinking only and exclusively of the giants of Semmering (December 27-28), followed by another brace between the wide doors, that on the “Podkoren” in Kranjska Gora.
Crucial phase of the season to try to get back in the race at least for the specialty World Cup, even if the super-g one, which he won in the last year 2021/22, is far from going with about ninety points gap and seven races still on the calendar.
The Valle d'Aosta really lit up only in the 2nd heat of the giant from Sestriere, when she gave an amazing performance to come close to that 50th podium in CdM which, few doubts about it, will arrive soon. Perhaps already on the "Panorama" which, if we want to be honest, is not his favorite track in the context of the year-end alternation between Semmering and Lienz, given that it is on the "Schlossberg" that the blue has always skipped. In the Lower Austrian resort, on the other hand, a couple of top tens arrived with 9th place in 2016 and 6th in 2018.
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