Brignone captures season-long giant slalom title at World Cup finals in a race won by Gut-Behrami


SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Italian ski racer Federica Brignone wrapped up the season-long giant slalom title on Tuesday at the World Cup finals in a race won by Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland.

Brignone needed to finish just 13th or better in the final run to clinch the discipline crown and wound up second. She finished 0.14 seconds behind Gut-Behrami’s winning combined time of 2 minutes, 10.01 seconds on a warm day at Sun Valley. Sara Hector of Sweden was third.

The 34-year-old Brignone entered the day 20 points behind Robinson in the last World Cup giant slalom race of the season. Robinson struggled with a gate in her first run, veered off course and didn’t finish, paving the way for Brignone.

Brignone won the GS crystal globe with 580 points, while Robinson had 520 and Hector 447. This was only the second time in Robinson’s nine World Cup GS races this season that she wasn’t on the podium.

It’s been a stellar season for Brignone, who already wrapped up the overall title, along with the downhill crown. She is expected to be a strong force heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics in her home country.

Gut-Behrami, the super-G winner Sunday, continued to shine on this course.

In the first run, American racer Paula Moltzan had a tough run on the demanding Challenger course. She lost a ski pole early in her run and then crashed through a gate and into the protective fencing with the finish line in sight.

Mikaela Shiffrin, a 22-time giant slalom World Cup winner, didn’t qualify for the finals of the GS this season. She’s been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from her November crash at the GS in Killington, Vermont. Shiffrin suffered a deep puncture wound on the right side of her abdomen.

Shiffrin will race in the slalom on Thursday.

___

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing



Source link

About The Author

Scroll to Top