Le podium
- 1. Sara Hector (SWE) 1:54,86 minutes
- 2. Lara Colturi (ALB) +1.42 seconds
- 3. Alice Robinson (NZL) +1,52
It rattled, it banged and the snow at Kranjska Gora was anything but easy to navigate. But while the competition struggled with the conditions – especially in the first round – Sara Hector rode towards her 7th World Cup victory. In the morning alone, the 32-year-old Swede took 1.13 seconds or more off everyone else. In the final, Hector not only managed her lead, she even increased it and won by almost 1.5 seconds.
Lara Colturi got closer to Hector. The teenager, who recently reached her first World Cup podium in the Gurgl slalom, confirmed her form. It was Albania’s first podium finish in giant slalom. Alice Robinson completes the podium. Federica Brignone, who had won four of the last five giant slaloms and started the race as leader in the discipline standings, was eliminated in the first run with an inside ski error.
The Swiss
- 6. Lara Gut-Behrami +2.11
- 8. Camille Rast +2.67
- 18. Wendy Holdener +3,72
- 26. Michelle Gisin +4.84
The Swiss were unable to keep up with the fastest runners. Lara Gut-Behrami, who was 5th at half-time and still within reach of the podium, lost too much time, especially in the middle of the 2nd lap set by her father Pauli, and lost another place. “It’s not so easy to get on the podium in giant slalom at the moment. There is a lack of security and confidence to attack fully,” said the Ticino man.
Camille Rast traveled to Slovenia as the overall World Cup leader. But the Valaisien voted wrong in the first round and only came 15th. In the decision, she corrected this error, attacked more and improved by 7 places thanks to the sixth best running time. She missed out on an even better ranking because of a small mistake at the key point.
-Wendy Holdener lost 8 places after an impressive 10th place. After her break in Semmering, Michelle Gisin also suffered a setback in Kranjska Gora. After finishing 23rd at halftime, the native of Engelberg even fell 3 places in the decision. “I have to drive even more radically on the ice,” she said after the race. Vanessa Kasper (35th), Stefanie Grob (48th), Simone Wild (53rd) and Janine Mächler (absent) failed to qualify for the final.
This is how it continues
The women’s slalom takes place on Sunday in Vitranc. The World Cup entourage will then travel to Austria, where the downhill and super-G events will take place in St. Anton. A night slalom follows in Flachau during the week. The next giant slalom won’t take place until January 21 in Kronplatz, Italy.
