Fede still competing in the general classification and in the giant slalom and super-G classifications. All the blues qualified
Six cups still to be awarded and Federica Brignone still in the running for three. Next week in Saalbach (Austria) the finals of one of the most complicated World Cup editions in history will be staged, with cancellations due to lack or excess of snow.
GUT HUNT
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Almost everything was awarded in the men’s competition, with Marco Odermatt in the role of star performer: already certain of the general and giant slalom cups, he is one step away from the super-G and downhill cups. The issue is different in the women’s game, with Italy still the protagonist. If last year the only one to lift the crystal trophy was Sofia Goggia (downhill), stopped by a serious injury a month ago, this time it is Federica Brignone who takes center stage. In one of the best seasons of her career, Fede achieved 5 successes (3 in giant slalom and 2 in super-G), 4 second and 2 third places.
general and giant
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Fede is second in the general classification with 282 points behind the leader, Lara Gut, and 63 ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin. In Saalbach Fede will have three races available to try to close the gap. It would take a feat to take the giant slalom trophy, because Gut is leading with a 95-point advantage: Fede should win and hope that the Ticino girl finishes outside the 15. Only one other Italian qualified in the final, Marta Bassino, with Goggia qualified but injured.
superg and descent
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In super-G Brignone is third with 74 points behind Gut and 5 from Huetter. Also in this case to win the trophy she would have to finish second at least and hope that her opponents finish outside the 15. Bassino, Pirovano and Melesi also go to the final. Lara Gut also leads the downhill ranking, 19 points ahead of Goggia who will return next season. Still in the running are Venier (-68 points), Huetter (-72) and Flury (-94). Brignone, Bassino, Pirovano, Nicol Delago qualified for the final.
slalom
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In slalom, the story is already closed: despite the long stop after the crash in Cortina, Mikaela Shiffrin is already certain of winning the eighth slalom cup in her career (11 in specialties, sixteenth in total). In the final only the Italian Martina Peterlini.
men
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An absolute dominator, Marco Odermatt, who enters the finals with his third overall World Cup already in his pocket, his second in giant slalom, and with the possibility of also taking on the downhill and super-G.
dominator
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In the giant slalom Marco Odermatt won 9 out of 9 races, extending his streak of three successes last season to 12 in a row. 4 Italians qualified for the final: Alex Vinatzer, surprise of the season in giant slalom, Luca De Aliprandini, who recovered in the final after some stumbles, Filippo della Vite, and Giovanni Borsotti.
slalom
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In the slalom, the cup has already been awarded to Manuel Feller – it is the first for the Austrian -, while only 2 Italians find a place in the finals: Tommaso Sala and Alex Vinatzer.
superg and descent
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The race is still open in super-G: Marco Odermatt is in the lead, but he has an 81-point advantage over Kriechmayr. The Austrian can aim for success or second place, hoping that the Swiss champion either doesn’t score points or doesn’t do better than a 13th place (only points for the top 15 in the final). The Italians Guglielmo Bosca, Dominik Paris and Mattia Casse qualified. On the downhill we will need to understand if the Frenchman Cyprien Sarrazin, a new face in speed this year, has recovered from the muscle problem suffered in Kvidfjell. He is the only one who can challenge Odermatt for the specialty cup, who leads with 552 points against the Frenchman’s 510. Also in the final are Dominik Paris, 3rd in the standings with 342 points, Florian Schieder, Mattia Casse and Guglielmo Bosca.
the finals programme
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The finals program is different from the usual format. It opens with the technical tests: Saturday 16th men’s giant slalom and women’s slalom, Sunday 17th men’s slalom and women’s giant slalom. The following week there will be space for speed: Friday 22nd men’s and women’s super-G, Saturday 23rd men’s and women’s downhill.
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