Sara Hector amazes the giant slalom competition in Kranjska Gora. The Swede braved the ice slope in Slovenia and triumphed well ahead of the Albanian top talent Lara Colturi. Emma Aicher finished in the points ahead of Lena Dürr.
Hector was unimpressed by the demanding conditions and, thanks to a furious first run, raced to her second World Cup success of the season. The Olympic giant slalom champion from Beijing won by a clear margin ahead of the 18-year-old Albanian Lara Colturi (+1.42 seconds) and the New Zealander Alice Robinson (+1.52).
Aicher is the best German – Dürr also scores
With the exception of Hector, all athletes had to struggle with the slippery track at the foot of Triglav. Germany’s top rider Lena Dürr, who actually competes in the slalom (takes place on Sunday), and 21-year-old Emma Aicher did well. Aicher overtook Dürr in the second round and came 24th, with Dürr right behind.
Fabiana Dorigo clearly missed the second round in 58th place, as did Jana Fritz. The 19-year-old World Cup newcomer was eliminated before the first intermediate time.
Different league: Hector defies a cold
“Actually, I didn’t want to, I had a cold“, Hector explained after her first run in the sports show: “Maybe I’ve had enough of a break, but I also like ice cream.” And the spectators in Kransjka Gora were able to admire this impressively. Hector delivered a spectacular first run in the morning.
The runner-up overall in the Giant Slalom World Cup took the lead with start number four and gained over a second lead over Colturi (+1.13), who switched from the Italian association to the Albanian association in May 2022. The last time there was a larger halftime lead in a women’s giant slalom was five years ago. In the second run, Hector even extended her lead again.
Top driver Brignone is eliminated
The Italian star Federica Brignone didn’t get along at all. The winner of Sölden and Semmering slipped past the goal and therefore had to hand over her lead in the Giant Goal World Cup to Hector.