Status: 23.10.2021 4:12 p.m.
The Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami and Mikaela Shiffrin fought an exciting duel in the giant slalom in Sölden. Only two hundredths separated the two in the first round – and they also fought an exciting fight in the final. After all, Marlene Schmotz achieved a third place on the grid for the DSV in the coming races.
What a start: In both runs, the mountain panorama around the Rettenbachferner presented itself in bright sunshine – ideal conditions for the Alpine World Cup opener. A very direct exit from the steep slope required courage and aggressiveness from the starters.
Shiffrin and Gut-Behrami dominate in Sölden
And that’s what Mikaela Shiffrin did best. The American competed in a league of her own with Lara Gut-Behrami. Over a minute before the third, Petra Vlhova, Shiffrin got 14 hundredths out of the Swiss competitor and her 70th World Cup victory on the finish slope.
Driving error prevents comeback fairy tales for Brunner
At the ÖSV, Stephanie Brunner amazed Sportschau commentators Bernd Schmelzer and Felix Neureuther in the first run. After three cruciate ligament tears within a year and a half, another operation on the foot followed in the actual 2020/21 comeback season. The 27-year-old surprised all the more with an aggressive ride on the steep glacier in the first round. In the second round, the ÖSV driver unfortunately made a mistake and gave away a top ten place.
Team colleague Katharina Liensberger (4th) fell just behind the Slovak Petra Vlhova (3rd) in the second run – nevertheless a decent start for the ÖSV.
Favorite women die in Sölden
Many other favorites, on the other hand, botched their start in the first run. The athletes have seldom experienced the difficult slope at 3,000 meters in such perfect conditions. Above all, the Italian women had therefore badly misjudged:
Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia approached the first round far too passively. Brignone then wanted too much in the second round and was eliminated after she got stuck at a goal. Team colleague Marta Bassino caused the first negative surprise in the first run.
The best giant slalom rider of the past season made a classic driving mistake and was eliminated. Elena Curtoni was also eliminated that morning after an inside ski error. And so in the end the Italians only finished 16th from Goggia.
Tessa Worley – Sölden winner of 2018 – was able to show her class in the second after a passive first round – in the end she finished eighth.
Tviberg and Tilley surprise
The Norwegian Maria Therese Tviberg was even better at skiing than the French. The 27-year-old was extremely close to the gates and moved up to fifth on the steep slope on the Rettenbachferner. Before that, the Briton Alex Tilley had convinced with start number 40 and a dream run in the final. She made up eight places from 24th place.
Marlene Schmotz with air upwards
Unfortunately, Marlene Schmotz did not succeed in doing anything similar. Car number 33 qualified for the second run with a solid drive. After a cheeky start, however, it became clearly too passive in the middle section. With a long line she lost tenth by tenth and fell back to the end of the field.
After the second cruciate ligament tear in January 2020, there are still World Cup points in Sölden – and thus a third starting place for the DSV women. Andrea Filser with starting number 48 unfortunately made too many driving errors in the first run and missed the second run.
Criticism of the racing calendar – also from Felix Neureuther
The early World Cup kick-off in Sölden is supposed to whet the appetite for the coming season, and this was also achieved with fantastic conditions on the Rettenbachferner. But there has also been criticism for years. “The same question arises again: Does it really have to be that you start a World Cup season so early? Isn’t a month later enough?”, Said Sportschau expert Felix Neureuther last.
Tomorrow it goes on
The men go to the glacier on Sunday (October 24th) at 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. The sport show will show the first round again from 9.55 a.m. in a live stream with Felix Neureuther and Bernd Schmelzer and in the ticker. The second run will be broadcast live on the first from 1 p.m.
Source: sportschau.de