In Val Gardena a perfect super-g by the Piedmontese, who triumphs on the slope where two years ago he won his first podium (downhill): he beat a sensational Goldberg by a whisker, Odermatt more clearly. Good performance also from Paris not far from the podium and Zazzi is splendid. Sarrazin out and tomorrow… the queen race!
A dream that turns into magic, with the touch of a wand mixed with his strength, devastating and recognized by everyone in the white circus.
Mattia Casse conquers, at 34 years of age, his first World Cup victory (fourth overall podium, second in the specialty) on “his” Saslong, where two years ago he finished the downhill third. This time it is in super-g that the Piedmontese “tractor” writes his most beautiful story in Val Gardena, 16 years after Werner Heel who opened the roll of honor in the discipline for the Azzurri in the first home round of the season.
It is the first podium, and automatically the first success, of the Italian men’s national team this season to which Mattia immediately gave a turning point, immediately thinking of his father Alessandro, the legend of the sprint km who passed away 3 years ago and to whom the son dedicated the pearl of 2022 on this track.
A race partially conditioned by the wind, on a track (Norwegian design) with very few curves and which the Italian, who started with the number 10, interpreted perfectly: Mattia didn’t make a single mistake, taking the right risks even at Ciaslat, but it was pure suffering when Jared Goldberg, with bib number 26, had the best performance of his career, taking his first podium at the age of 33 and overtaking Casse by two tenths in the final sprint, for finish them at… 1 cent!
This was enough to scream to the Val Gardena sky, while Marco Odermatt, who in turn underwent surgery, had to settle (after the victory in Beaver Creek, he still has the red bib) for third place and paid for it, and there are many on a slope considered easy for the super-g, 43 cents.
Behind the phenomenon of Buochs, here is another 4th place for the young Norwegian Fredrik Moeller, 0″54 away, three hundredths ahead of Stefan Rogentin and Cameron Alexander, who share the 5th final, with Nils Allegre (who will be very dangerous again tomorrow downhill) 7th at 0″63 ahead of his compatriot Giezendanner and a good Dominik Paris, ninth with 77 hundredths of a delay, after having slightly missed the entrance to the floor before the curve of the lake.
Out of Sarrazin (2nd in the opening of Beaver Creek), who immediately got off to a bad start, here is a splendid Pietro Zazzi in the standings, 10th at 0″97 and close to his best result (6th in Kvitfjell a few months ago): despite the back problems, so much so that he missed the second test on Wednesday, Bormino had a wonderful day and was the third Italian player in the top ten.
Kriechmayr, clearly among the very favourites, misses the podium as in Colorado and is 11th at 1″09, ahead of Crawford, Babinsky and Murisier by a couple of tenths.
(updating)
