Everything was set for Lara Gut-Behrami’s 4th podium finish this season. The Ticino woman was in a strong second place after the first run of the World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria, only 15 hundredths behind leader Federica Brignone. But in the final she was stuck on a red gate and almost came to a standstill. Instead of a podium place, she ended up in 9th place, 1.83 seconds behind the winner.
And like in the opening race of the season in Sölden, it was called Brignone. The Italian confidently defended her half-time lead. For the 34-year-old, it was the 29th World Cup victory of her career. At the same time, she took over the lead in the overall World Cup from Camille Rast.
The podium
- 1. Federica Brignone (ITA) 2:03,14
- 2. Sara Hector (SWE) +0,57
- 3. Alice Robinson (NZL) +0,90
Olympic champion Sara Hector confirmed her strong form. The Swedish winner of the last giant slalom in Killington was in 3rd place after the first run and benefited from Gut-Behrami’s failure. Alice Robinson won 3 places in the final and climbed onto the podium again after Sölden (2nd).
The other Swiss women in the points
- 17. Camille Rast + 2.75
- 21. Wendy Holdener +3,13
- 24. Simone Wild +3,65
Apart from Gut-Behrami, the Swiss women remained below their potential on the “panoramic slope”. Both Camille Rast, third from Killington, and Wendy Holdener lost their chances of a top spot in the first run. Both lost a few places in the final.
Holdener is in poor health. She wanted to prepare for Sunday’s slalom with some training. “But recovery is more important so that I can attack again.” Rast said: “I wanted too much in the first run and then it wasn’t there in the second run. I have to find a happy medium.”
Scheib saves the honor of the Austrians
Things looked bleak for the hosts at halftime. The best Austrian was Ricarda Haaser in 12th place, directly ahead of Julia Scheib. The latter then put in a strong 2nd run and improved by 7 places to 6th final place thanks to the best running time.
Nevertheless, after five home races, Scheib still achieved one Austrian podium place (across genders) at the start of the season in Sölden.
For five of the eight Ski Austria representatives who started, it was over after the first run, including Katharina Liensberger. Katharina Huber’s completely unsuccessful start was symptomatic of the home team’s performance.
Clara Direz was unlucky. The only French woman in the final cut off her skis when she reached the finish. She fell on the back of her head and into the advertising board and had to be cared for for a few minutes.
This is how it continues
On Sunday (from 10:15 a.m. live on SRF two) the 2024 calendar year comes to an end for the World Cup riders in Semmering with a slalom. On January 4th and 5th, the technicians will be in demand again in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia (a giant slalom and a slalom).
