When superlatives are not enough, it is better to let the clock speak: in Slovenia there is a Sweden which has knocked out the risk of the giant slalom with Sara Hector, new specialty and leader of the general classification, opening the first race of the year, winning the giant slalom on the Podkoren 3 of Kranjska Gora, with a stratospheric 142. Once they would have been detached from Mikaela Shiffrin who, however, still postpones her return, but is happy to be able to find the snow again “maybe next week”.
But behind the Scandinavian avalanche hides a two-faced Italy, even slightly foreign, which smiles and opens its heart. Lara Colturi, originally from Albanian Piedmont, conquers, at just over 18 years old, a record second place. In Italy, only Ninna Quario managed to achieve a victory and a podium in slalom at just under her age. For the daughter of Daniela Ceccarelli, this is the second podium of her career, after the historic second place in the Gurgl slalom, in November 2024. Baby Colturi has been playing in the cup for more than 3 seasons, having already overcome a serious injury – under the eagle of Tirana, but betrays great maturity and solidity on the field: second already halfway through the race, she did not come under pressure and took everything she could take yesterday, at the exception of a brilliant Hector and ahead of Alice Robinson (152).
Just behind, however, there is Italy with the full tricolor of Sofia Goggia (in the photo) who not only redeems a colorless performance from her teammates, but regains a place in the top five like a true giant. A little over a year ago, on January 30, 2024, it was his classification at Plan de Corones, then on February 5 the training accident at Ponte di Legno, just between the wide gates and the start of the chapter 11 of his Odyssey. Daring in the first, where she finished 12th, in the second she achieved the second fastest time of the round: “I started from where I started, I could say that in the first I did too much damage and that I would have liked to ski like in training, but this position rewards me for all the efforts. a work that we have done in a giant way with coaches Luca Agazzi and Gianluca Rulfi, the grammatical basis of all success.”
Lara Gut, for example, on mixed ice sometimes with more grip, fades behind her.
She comes out furious “I immediately took to the track” – Federica Brignone who loses, after the two successes of Soelden and Semmering, the red leader’s bib. Still looking for an author Marta Bassino who does not qualify for the second round.
Today all in slalom (Live TV at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.).
