Another great test for Sofia: between her and the Swiss only 18 cents, while the American one second behind
Lara Gut-Behrami remembered being the world champion in charge of the super-G and that only she could stop these days the war machine of Sofia Goggia. In St. Moritz, home track for the Ticinese (despite the bad memory of the injury between the two heats of the 2017 World Cup: that day she broke her knee and faced a difficult recovery), it went just like this: Lara explained that perfection can exist even on snow, but Sofia ended up in her tails. Bar of 18 cents, yet far from defeat also because the supremacy in the discipline is only shared, not lost.
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been there rematch last Sunday in Lake Louise (where the blue has closed a historic hat-trick of consecutive successes (the first two downhill) by recovering the Swiss in the last sector of the Men’s Olympic. On the bumps and on the toboggans of Corviglia the same thing was about to happen. slightly less favorable conditions compared to the Gut-Behrami – light and visibility, when the wind does not even get in the way, are often a factor there -, Sofia knew she had to measure herself against a storm (1’19 ” 82) He started with an unpromising delay (44 cents at the first split), but then going in acceleration, looking for recovery in every fold and trying to speed wherever possible. It was needed the courage of a lion and Goggia had it: disadvantage dropped to 32 cents in the second reading, even to 16 in the third. This time, however, the finisseur magic that had rewarded her in Canada was missing: the Swiss remained the only one to break down the 1’20 ” wall, coincidentally the beautiful and round weather with which our champion has finished.
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At this moment in super-G both Gut-Behrami and Goggia seem to be of a higher level than the competition. Scrolling through the order of arrival it turns out that the first of the normal ones is nothing less than Mikaela Shiffrin, on course to become number one in the history of women’s skiing and to retouch the absolute record of victories still held by Ingemar Stenmark: the American champion collected 1 “ 18, just to understand. After all, it was immediately clear that Lara was on the ball and in the day: tense and always in position, she was impressive in terms of stability and composure when cornering. It was the attitude of someone who, in the circumstance, knew he could be dominant. For her the success number 33 and the 63rd podium. Sofia, on the other hand, does not reach Isolde Kostner with 15 successes, but updates the number of appearances in the “top three”: they are 36. I am proud of this result – the comment of the 2018 Olympian of the descent -, I paid for some initial smears, a first jump that was not ideal and then some lines a little too long. When I don’t see well I tend to accentuate the curves and, adding all these factors, the final 18 cents are explained. Moreover, a Gut-Behrami skiing a lot of stuff in this way….
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Italy did not stop at Goggia, the first exit of St. Moritz (Sunday 12 December the second super-G will be held, again at 10.30) scores a good team result: sixth Elena Curtoni (which seemed to have gone further with the 1’21”58 which was the first important reference point of the race), eighth Federica Brignone and ninth Martha Bassino, the latter making its seasonal debut in the specialty. There is no shortage of regrets, however: In my case they are linked to the gap, 2 seconds is too much, says Marta Bassino. Elena Curtoni, on the other hand, reproaches herself for not having had any more decision and for not always having been at her best on skis, while the Brignone recognizes an excessive hesitation: Net of a race made complicated by visibility, I should have trusted more: instead I struggled and I’m not very happy. However, four girls in the top ten are an important balance: no nation – not even Switzerland, which played at home and placed three in the noble part of the ranking – went as well as Italy: a strong sign looking back at the day of the rematch.
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December 11, 2021 (change December 11, 2021 | 12:32)
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