Mikaela Shiffrin crushes the first round of the Courchevel Giant, Tessa Worley will fight for the podium

She was way above the lot. On an Emile-Allais track which quickly deteriorated due to the positive temperatures, Mikaela Shiffrin clearly dominated the first round of the Courchevel giant. Precise, lighter on her downforce and quite simply untouchable, the American beat the Swiss Michelle Gisin (+ 0”74), the only skier under the second, and the Swedish Sara Hector (+ 1”03) and s’ is in good shape with a view to a 72nd World Cup success. Further back (8th), the French Tessa Worley remains on the lookout in the race for the podium.

Already victorious in Sölden at the opening for the only giant contested so far this season, Mikaela Shiffrin is on course to do the same in Courchevel, where she loves skiing (3 successes) and where she is the title holder. The American will have splashed the first round of her class and her talent, clearly dominating her opponents. Fairer on the trajectories, never surprised by a difficult terrain that was hitting under the ski, started with a lot of commitment without ever losing control, the three-time winner of the big crystal globe knew how to keep fluidity in her sequences for crush the sleeve.

Worley behind but in the game

On arrival, Shiffrin pushed back all her opponents to more than a second, with the exception of the surprising Swiss Michelle Gisin (+ 0”74). Including her great rival in technical disciplines, the Slovakian Petra Vlhova (6th, + 1”39), started with bib 1 but guilty of a fault at the bottom of the track. Coming in leaps and bounds to try to score points for the overall standings, World Cup leader Sofia Goggia took 10th place (+ 1”75). Like what she had produced in Sölden (8th), Tessa Worley did not succeed in completely letting go. Having started with good intentions, the Frenchwoman suffered in the wall, with small mistakes, and had to settle for 8th place (+ 1”45). Far from Shiffrin but in the race for a 5th podium in Courchevel after 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2020.