Kranjska Gora Women's Giant Slalom Races Preview
Updated: Jan 6
Next weekend two Giant Slalom World Cup races will be held in Kranjska Gora.
Kranjska Gora is an alpine resort in Slovenia, near the mountains and glacial lakes of Triglav National Park. The Upper Sava Valley, one of the most beautiful Alpine valleys, lies in the north-westernmost part of Slovenia, right next to the tri-border with Austria and Italy.
Kranjska Gora was sometimes an alternate location for Maribor's Golden Fox races in recent years.
The Podkoren racecourse, where the 11th edition of the Golden Fox in Kranjska Gora will take place, is due to some blind turning, hanging terrain and spectacular finish one of the most challenging race slopes in the Women's calendar.
Racecourse facts:
Start Elevation: 1230 m (Giant Slalom)
Finish Elevation: 849 m (Giant Slalom)
Vertical Drop: 386 m (Giant Slalom)
Max. slope: 59 %
Kranjska Gora (SLO)
January 7th Giant Slalom / Women. 1st run 9:30 - 2nd run 12:30 CET
January 8th Giant Slalom / Women. 1st run 9:30 - 2nd run 12:30 CET
After finishing in third place in Lienz Sara Hector returned in Kranjska Gora to the top of the podium after setting the best time on both runs. Hector was super consistent and extremely aggressive on a difficult and exigent Podkoren slope.
The Swede was just 0.08 seconds ahead of Tessa Worley after the first run but pulled away with a blistering start to her second and finished 0.96 seconds clear.
Marta Bassino finished in third place +1.32 seconds behind Hector.
In 2021 Marta Bassino won both Giant Slaloms held in Kranjska Gora.
In the first race, Bassino attacked both runs to lead after the first run by 0.23 seconds and extended her dominance even further in the second run, to pick up the victory by a 0.80 margin.
Tessa Worley turned in the fastest second run to jump into the podium, finishing in second place.
Michelle Gisin ended the first run in second place and finished in third place at the end of the day, +1.46 seconds behind Bassino.
Marta Bassino won her second Giant Slalom in two days ahead of Michelle Gisin and Meta Hrovat. She became the second woman from Italy to complete a Giant Slalom double in a World Cup season after 3-time Olympic champion Deborah Compagnoni in 1997 (Zwiesel, Germany).