Mikaela Shiffrin has returned to the top step of the podium in Downhill after 663 days. Bluebird skies and a technical course were the ingredients of the second speed race of the season. The US skier finished ahead of the Italian duo Sofia Goggia (+0.15)-Federica Brignone (+(0.17). It's her third win of the season.
Shiffrin has stood on the Downhill Alpine Ski World Cup podium seven times. Shiffrin's three previous wins in Downhill World Cup events came in Lake Louise (December 2, 2017), Bansko (January 24, 2020) and Courchevel (March 16, 2022).
The 28-year-old American ski Ace achieved today her 91 victory in the World Cup. She was on the podium 144 times in 258 Alpine Ski World Cup starts.
Shiffrin based her victory on a perfect performance in the first sections of the course. “It was really great today, I felt very good with my skiing, but at the very end I had one small mistake. I wasn't sure if the rest of the run was good enough. It’s very close, even for the top 10. I think the biggest challenge with downhill, for me at least, is how hard you can push on the limit and stay clean and also find the fastest part of the turn where you're accelerating. On the turns I felt so much speed and momentum which was wonderful”, Shiffrin said.
Sofia Goggia finished in second place behind Shiffrin. The 30-year-old Italian speed Queen was on the podium nine times, five wins and four second places in the last ten Downhill events. The only time she did not finish in the Top-3 was in the second Downhill held in Cortina d'Ampezzo on January 21, 2023, where she did not finish the race (DNF).
"My run was maybe not so clean as other Downhills I did in the past. But anyway I'm happy because even with a mistake and without a clean line, I finished second", Goggia said.
"I knew that Shiffrin could be really the one to beat today. She has already won some Downhills in her career, and Shiffrin is always Shiffrin, you always can expect that she finish first", she added.
Federica Brignone finished in third place, her 6th podium in Downhill. The 33-year-old Italian skier celebrated today her 60 Alpine Ski World Cup podium.
"I'm really happy about my performance today, I did everything the way I wanted to do. I was smooth on the flats and aggressive on the turns, that's what I was looking for yesterday and I didn't find it", Brignone said.
Austria's women missed the podium with Cornelia Hütter (+0.28), who was second in the Super-G the day before, and Mirjam Puchner (+0.39) taking fourth and fifth place.
After start number 35 the race was stopped because the worsening weather conditions with strong gust of wind and limited visibility due to the fog. Despite the cancellation, the race is officially completed because the required number of 30 athletes took part.
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