2021 cortina world championships
getty images
We give the votes, analyzing the performances one by one, to the ten blue athletes protagonists of the world championship in Cortina. Pirovano's debut was good, Elena Curtoni's results should not be underestimated.
Monday 22 February 2021 14 minutes reading time
A World Cup with a skimpy team, as regards the blue women's sector.
Save the balance, the gold of Marta Bassino and, of course, the injury of Sofia Goggia a few days after the start of Cortina 2021, conditioned the loot collected by the pink squadron that has done so much well in the World Cup in recent seasons (even more so this year with 8 victories). So let's see the pagellone of the nine athletes protagonists of the home world championship.
Marta Bassino (grade 7): paradoxically, the Cuneo woman suffered in the three races she was aiming for most (and in which she got on the podium in the World Cup), only to find the golden masterpiece in the most uncertain test of all, or the parallel. Out of the top ten in super-g, but certainly that world debut was not to be rejected since it was run on a slope, the Olympia delle Tofane, far from ideal for its characteristics, considering that in the more technical part he skied "medal".
Better as a result (sixth), but lower as an overall performance, his combined alpine in which he made a mistake in super-g and suffered a lot on the slalom ice, finishing more than 2 and a half seconds from the podium area.
The next day came the bang in a parallel discussed, but which saw Marta fight with a very difficult qualification (also because she started first together with Vlhova, therefore without references) and then always manage to recover, beyond the track advantage , in all rounds of the final stage. Of course, the disappointment of the giant ended only in 13th place, she who dominated with 4 wins in 6 CdM races, remains because that was the most awaited day of her season, but for the only gold medal of this Azzurri World Cup the vote can only be well above sufficiency.
Federica Brignone (grade 4): five races, zero medals and only one performance at its levels, that of the super-g valid for the alpine combined, with the best time trial then nullified by the combined exit, at the third gate of a slalom faced first and with too much aggression on that initial wall. For the World Cup holder it was a very difficult season, but the redemption was expected from Cortina 2021: a world championship started uphill, only tenth in super-g, then the renunciation of the descent to play the combined, finished as we know.
Then came the day of parallel and controversy: on that occasion, the Aosta Valley seemed to be able to play for medals, but the derby in the quarters with Marta Bassino was fatal. The blow came with the exit in the giant last Thursday: a good first part of the race, it is true, but the usual inclination on the back of the Festis was fatal. At that point there were few expectations for the slalom, where it derailed in the 1st heat. A World Cup to forget, but also to reflect on.
Elena Curtoni (vote 6.5): it could not be her World Cup, in the sense that we knew how much Olympia delle Tofane would have made her suffer. Bad in super-g (18th), Elena did the maximum downhill, eighth less than half a second from the podium. And she was also very good in combined, with the fourth place behind the three big favorites, simply unapproachable: 2 ^ in super-g one cent from Brignone, more than honorable in her "defense" in slalom to finish with a margin on other specialists, albeit far from Shiffrin, Vlhova and Gisin. Finally, participation in the giant, a small regret considering that he had done very well in the cup and in the first round of the world championship it was instead all terribly difficult, with more than 4 seconds behind and the failure to start in the second.
Laura Pirovano (grade 6): it was her debut at this level, on the track where she was seriously injured three years ago. His downhill response was excellent, with a 12th place that has a value, even if in the cup the thirty has already shown us that we can do even better. The rest of his World Cup lived on the technical disciplines, even if in parallel, both on an individual level (far from qualifying in the 16), and in the team event the following day (with the blue team out in the quarter-finals), he showed limits important in this discipline.
The giant could have been a good opportunity, considering the exceptional track conditions, but Laura struggled finishing 26th, far from the top 15 which could be the only goal for the points in the WCSL perspective that she needs to start later in the Cup. World. Talent is not in question, it will also come between wide doors.
Irene Curtoni (score 5.5): it is more a vote for what has been done in recent years, as the only blue athlete with excellent consistency in the world top 15 of a discipline of pure suffering for movement. Probably that of Cortina was the last great event disputed by the Valtellinese, who on "Druscié A" did not find herself immediately: first heat 18th, second heat even lower than expected, with the same position kept just ahead of Peterlini, only two Italians who finished in the winds. She had decided to bet everything on this race, also sacrificing the team event that had seen her conquer the bronze with her teammates at Are 2019: here, if we want in the team test there would have been all her presence.
Francesca Marsaglia (rating 5.5): a 23rd place in super-g, never really competing in the opening race of her fifth world championship, then the bitter 17th downhill when, starting with bib n ° 1 , Francesca immediately felt "held back" by the wind in the upper part, and then skiing at good levels in the heart of the Olympia delle Tofane. She deserved the call-up with two top ten in super-g and above all the 4th place in Crans-Montana, while in the downhill she has always suffered: so far it has not been her season and Cortina has confirmed it.
Martina Peterlini (vote 6): first World Championship and a 19th place, with six positions recovered in the 2nd round of the slalom. The young woman from thirty has been conditioned since the autumn by a serious physical problem (bone edema) and, although she recovered at reasonable levels in the weeks preceding the world championship, she is certainly not the best Peterlini even the one seen in Cortina. In any case, in a difficult season for the Italian slalom talents, the world championship race is far from being thrown away and a fundamental experience for the future.
Nadia Delago (grade 6): also for the Gardena debut at these levels and three races played. The most beautiful was certainly the descent, his race where this year has grown a lot; the 15th place is to be emphasized, between two athletes like Stuhec and Lie, while in the alpine combined she immediately came out in super-g. Finally, the team event, replacing Lara Della Mea in the race: Nadia won her test, for a cent over the German Aicher, despite the defeat of the Italian team in the quarter-finals against Germany.
Anita Gulli (grade 6): called in a hurry three days before the world slalom, the Turin class' '98, who in the last CdM race in Flachau had obtained the first points in the CdM finishing 28th, demonstrated speed and courage even in the first heat. She died in the final and it is a shame because she could have easily closed in the thirty and then played for a good comeback position, while she was forced to settle for the 26th place finish. However, a debut to remember and we are really curious to see her again in the next World Cup races because the girl is very interesting.
Lara Della Mea (n.g.): the most unfortunate of the World Cup. Debut in parallel, where the Tarvisiana knows how to do it all right, and failure to qualify for the round of 16 for just one cent in favor of Marta Bassino (with a serious mistake in the middle of the test, otherwise the story could have changed). The next day, right in the debut against Finland, the injury with that flight and the left knee knocked out: the crusader broke and the season was over, she was also playing the European Cup. Such a pity.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Social media engagement
Ultimi in Sport invernali
Brignone, Goggia e Bassino, un avvicinamento a Soelden (e alla stagione) totalmente differente
Le tre stelle della nazionale, mentre Pirovano e Curtoni continuano a lavorare bene a Ushuaia, stanno vivendo momenti opposti quando mancano 40 giorni all'opening: la bi campionessa olimpica continua il recupero e nel week-end ha raggiunto le amiche (ed ex colleghe) Pircher e Agerer, per la fuoriclasse bergamasca il rientro dall'Argentina e gli esami in arrivo per chiarire la situazione. E la cuneese due volte iridata? Il dt Rulfi ha svelato a Gianmario Bonzi che i tempi negli allenamenti di gigante sono già buoni...
110