(Val d’Isère) Federica Brignone dominated to win a World Cup super-G on Sunday and close the gap in the overall standings to Mikaela Shiffrin, one of several top skiers not to finish the race in Val of Isère.
Brignone beat Kajsa Vickhoff Lie by almost half a second, finishing 0.44 ahead of the Norwegian.
Brignone, victorious in two giant slaloms in Mont-Tremblant earlier this month, screamed with joy when she saw her finishing time.
“I have to be honest, everything went well for me. Even in the parts where I might not have been 100% immediately, I tried to get my rhythm back and push even harder. That was my strength today,” said Brignone, who won just one race last season.
It was Brignone’s 24th World Cup victory, making her the most successful Italian skier.
She also tied Gustav Thöni for second all-time for her country behind Alberto Tomba, who won 50 races.
“I don’t look at records, I look at how I’m doing today or recently. Every race is a story in itself and so far every race this season is fantastic in its own way,” said Brignone, who is 33 years old.
This is Lie’s fourth podium and first in super-G since another second place in Garmisch, Germany, almost three years ago.
“I had some trouble [earlier this season],” Lie said. I know I can go fast and I felt very confident, but I just struggled to reach that level during the races. I gave everything today and I had confidence in myself, so I’m super happy. »
Italian Sofia Goggia finished third, after impressively correcting a mistake at the start of the track.
Goggia won a super-G earlier this month.
Shiffrin failed to finish after missing a gate in a blind section that caused problems for several athletes.
Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami also left the track.
Nearly half of the 58 skiers failed to complete the course set by one of the Italian coaches, Paolo Stefanini.
Shiffrin still leads the overall World Cup standings where she is aiming for a sixth title, which would tie a record.
However, the American saw her lead reduced to 63 points ahead of 2020 champion Brignone, who is enjoying her career-best start to the season.
The next competition will be a night slalom in Courchevel on Thursday.
