The “Olimpia delle Tofana” in Cortina d’Ampezzo once again threw off some top riders. The most prominent victim was Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), who may even have to fear for victory in the overall World Cup after her fall. Others benefited. Austrian Stephanie Venier surprisingly won the day.
Shiffrin, who started the race with start number seven, remained lying for minutes after her fall in the delta curve. After a long jump over a crest, her skis jammed and the 28-year-old landed hard in the barrier. When she stood up again, it was seen that, supported by caregivers, she was unable to put any weight on her left leg. Shiffrin had to be transported away. A diagnosis is still pending, but the TV pictures don’t bode well.
After her closest competitor Petra Vlhova ended the season due to injury last weekend, the path to Shiffrin’s sixth overall World Cup victory was actually clear. But despite the big lead, it is no longer a sure-fire success should it be canceled for a longer period of time.
And it wasn’t just Shiffrin who fell on the very undulating, fast and selective route. The Italian Federica Brignone, the Swiss Priska Nufer and Emma Aicher (SC Mahlstetten) also lost control of their skis at the same point. Corinne Suter (Switzerland) swung off injured in the upper section.
Venier celebrates Surprise victory – Gut-Behrami is catching up in the overall World Cup
In what were actually perfect external conditions, practically all riders had to struggle with the icy, unsettled ground. The Austrian Stephanie Venier, who came with start number 18, got faster and faster as she got closer to the finish and crossed the finish line in the best time, coped best with this. A winner that hardly anyone had expected beforehand.
Second, 0.39 seconds behind, was the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, who now moved up to second place in the overall World Cup and could benefit most from Shiffrin’s possible failure. Her second place is all the more important because the Swiss had to take to the track immediately after two long breaks due to injury. The Italian Sofia Goggia, the Austrian Christina Ager and the Canadian Valerie Grenier (+ 0.71) came third at the same time.
Botched middle section: Kira Weidle is way back again
It remains a tough season for Germany’s best speed driver Kira Weidle. The 27-year-old from Starnberg was among the fastest in some sectors. However, she lost so much time in the middle section that it was not enough for a top ten place in the final results (+1.65). “I concentrate on the good aspects that I take with me here”, she said on ZDF. ” Without my midsection I would be fine.”
Hütter expects discussions after the fall festival
“It was different than in recent years. A lot more jumps. If the direction isn’t 100 percent right, you get into big problems, unfortunately with a lot of falls today. You almost have to be happy when you’re down safely.”said Weidle about the many falls. Cornelia Hütter also believes that there will definitely be discussions about the preparation after the fall festival: “When you see this now, the voices are getting very loud again.”, the Austrian answered on ZDF when asked whether the piste should have been prepared better and some of the waves should have been defused. Also her journey is “at the limit” been.