Almost six years after the last race, the 14th place of the greatest sprinter in history, in super-g number 1 in St. Moritz, was of the highest level if we think about the track disadvantage found with number 31 and that upper part very cautious. The jokes with Goggia after the match and a promise: “Now we'll have fun”.
Many thought, Paolo De Chiesa first and foremost, that compared to Marcel Hirscher himself it would be easier just for the fact that in fast disciplines history changes and the experience and quality of Lindsey Vonn, unattainable for many years by any rival, it could have emerged quickly.
But if we talk about a 14th place in super-g, on a tough slope like that of Sankt Moritz and with a clear disadvantage on the track with the number 31 (the central part was marked a lot, the times of all the athletes dropped after the first 15-20 speak for themselves), well the story changes. Yes, the greatest sprinter in history was magnificent, an excellent return to the World Cup, almost 6 years after the last time in Cortina (20 January 2019), three weeks before the world bronze in the Are downhill which closed her legendary career.
Or rather, the first part given that today in the Engadine a new life has begun for Lindsey, with a knee prosthesis that has caused so much discussion and rained down criticism on this immense champion for having decided, at the age of 40, to take such a risk. Also in terms of image. LV84's first response was world-class, and if we think among other things that it left over half a second to Huetter in the upper part, in those 20 seconds where theoretically it could have made its natural smoothness count, then today's performance it takes on even more value, with the more technical parts skied really well.
“Hi beautiful!” – Lindsey shouted to her friend Sofia Goggia in the parterre, while Simone Benzoni interviewed her for Rai Sport. You could see it in his eyes, a happiness that had been missing, due to injuries, for too many years: “I would have liked to ski as fast as you”, he added, referring to the Italian, before explaining that “I felt the skiing flow fast, it's beautiful and I had a lot of fun.”
“I'm too happy for her, seeing her like this. And he competed on an already marked track, he did a great thing”, underlined Goggia herself. At ORF, Vonn said he “didn't want to risk too much, I wanted to finish with a good performance today. I got what I wanted, tomorrow I will definitely push harder.”
Hoping that the weather doesn't get in the way, in just a few hours “The Queen of Speed” could make us have a lot of fun…
