Federica Brignone claimed victory in an exciting Super-G event on Sunday in Kvitfjell. The 34-year-old set the best time in a challenging Olympiabakken course to claim victory, finishing just 0.06 seconds ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami. Sofia Goggia rounded out the podium 0.09 seconds behind Brignone.
The Italian skier celebrated her eighth win of the season, the most she has achieved in any season of her career. Brignone achieved 12 of her 35 Alpine Ski World Cup victories in the Super-G. Also, 24 of her 80 podiums came in the same discipline. Brignone has secured podium finishes in her last four World Cup Super-G races, with victories today and in Cortina.
Brignone became Italy's first female skier to win 35 World Cup victories. The only Italian to have won more than 35 World Cup events is ski legend Alberto Tomba (50).
After today's win, Brignone currently leads the Overall standings with 1,194 points, 251 points ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami, who has 943 points. She is pursuing her second Big Crystal Globe, having previously won it in the 2019-2020 season.
"I'm a bit lucky today with the hundredths, but it was hard to make a perfect run. I thought I had these mistakes and I thought it was possible to do better than what I did, and it was in some sections. But nobody did a perfect run, and mine was better than the others," Brignone said.
Lara Gut-Behrami with her second position made another step forward in her fight for the Super-G Crystal Globe. It's her 98th World Cup podium and 44th in Super-G. The skier from Ticino has finished on the podium in five of the six Super-G events this season.
Gut-Behrami has four wins, five 2nds, a 3rd, and a 5th, 6th, and 7th in her past 13 races in the discipline.
Over the past three seasons in Kvitfjell, she has achieved four podium finishes, which include a victory last season, two second-place finishes, and a third-place finish.
In the Super-G standings, Lara Gut-Behrami (465 points) leads Federica Brignone (410) by 55 points. Sofia Goggia is third with 306 points.
"I'm not satisfied at all. It's starting to annoy me because I keep making mistakes all season. I made a lot of mistakes in the middle section and lost eight tenths. I had no chance to stay on course, I was always too late, so I was surprised to finish second. It's something I'm doing the entire season, so I'm working on that, trying to change that, because my skiing is fast, but I'm always making too many mistakes. What motivates me is what I can still improve. I'm just not someone who gets satisfied quickly," Gut-Behramis said.
Sofia Goggia claimed 17 of her 60 Alpine Ski World Cup podiums in the Super-G.
"I was surprised I was so close in second when I came down. It was a tricky Super-G, the grip was OK sometimes, but at the same time, sometimes it was too aggressive. I think I made a lot of mistakes here and there," Goggia said.
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