Masterpiece by Federico Brignone, first gold medal of the Courchevel-Meribel World Championships. Twelve years after her only world championship medal, in the giant slalom in Garmisch 2011, the Aosta Valley becomes champion with two races always on the attack, in the morning in super-G and in the afternoon in slalom, pushing the favorite into error Mikaela Shiffrin who was about to join her in the last doors of the special. “I made it to show you the slalomist in me” she rejoices at the finish line. “I’m too happy. After the mistake I thought I would have lost, so I pushed in the final. I was confident in slalom, I had trained in recent days. Now they won’t tell me anymore that a gold medal is missing in my palmares” . At the end of the race the hug with his brother Davide, personal coach that she wanted next to at all costs. On the podium Federica then cried with emotion.
The super-G that made the difference
Brignone had previously obtained the best time in super-G with 71 cents over Switzerland Lara Gut-Behrami and Norwegian Ragnhild Mowinckelwho didn’t start in the slalom, 78 on the other blue Elena Curtoni90 on the Austrian Ramona Siebenhofer and 96 on the American leader of the World Cup, winner of five slaloms since the beginning of the season.
Skiing, Federica Brignone: “I have little faith in myself, so I win. Goggia? I never look at the falls”
by Mattia Chiusano
Started first in the slalom, she didn’t let herself be conditioned by the little slalom training and by her only previous season (24th place in Killington at 2”19 from the Swedish Swenn Larsson), He pushed right away, with an excellent pace interrupted only by a mistake in the second part of the track, in which he risked slipping away before finding the leap to rejoin the line. Instead, it went badly for Shiffrin, who arrived within 8 cents of her in the last intermediate stage: the American, 11 victories this year, 85 in the World Cup, lost control on a pole to the right and forked the next one with the finish line now in sight. The silver thus went to Switzerland Wendy Holdenerand the bronze in the Austrian style Ricarda Haaser. For Brignone a suggestive triumph on a slope linked to the history of Italian skiing: in Meribel Deborah Compagnoni won gold in super-G at the 1992 Albertville Olympics. It is also the first triumph of a blue in a world combined: to succeed among men Gustav Thoen in Sapporo in 1972 and in Innsbruck in 1976, when the Olympic title was also valid for the world championship.
Sci, Deborah Compagnoni: “The gold and the scream of Meribel, this is how I conquered the Italians”
by Mattia Chiusano
Brignone after the super-G: “In the slalom I will attack to the max”
Brignone’s dominance in super-G was clear, from start to finish, with the best splits in all sectors of the track, even giving 51 cents to Shiffrin in the central part. In the upper part he had exceeded 94 kmh, faster by at least two-three kilometers compared to his rivals. “I’m surprised by the gap” Federica said at the finish line, who won the combined bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics last year, “I thought I skied quite well, but not so well. I’m very happy, now I have to get the slalom skier in me and give my best in the second heat. I have nothing to lose, but to gain. I will try to attack as much as possible, I don’t want to brake, in slalom so you only risk going out. I want to show my best slalom, I’m not used to going down with number 1″. Among the best combined skiers in slalom, the Austrian had arrived at 1”07 Franziska Gritsch1’58 and 1”66 the Swiss Michelle Gisin e Wendy Holdener. Also running for the medals is Elena Curtoni, who however has lost the habit of slalom and will finish ninth at 4”05.
Mikaela Shiffrin: “In the end I healed. I learned that you can survive the pain”
by Mattia Chiusano
Goggia 20th doesn’t do the slalom: “I did a quick test lap”
Sofia Goggia she returned to the race after the crash in Cortina studying the track where the super-G and downhill world gold will be awarded. “I went down without pushing, with complete peace of mind, let’s say I did a fast lap: the first one was good as an approach” she said commenting on the race, which ended 1”92 behind Brignone: the Bergamo rider did not then start in the heat of slalom.
Bassino out: “Unbalanced when the track ends in the shadows”
It was going very fast Martha Bassinowho until halfway through the race was in the running to get the best time (3 hundredths of a second behind the first intermediate), then made a mistake when the track went from the light to the shade of the wood: “I was unbalanced, where you enter the shadow I got crushed, felt my butt on the bindings and missed the next goal. I tried a small piece of the track, which is beautiful, and up to that point I enjoyed it”.
