As if on rails, calmly and with a fine blade, Emma Aicher drove away from everyone at the Super-G in Tarvisio, Italy. The young alpine all-rounder took victory ahead of US star Lindsey Vonn (+0.27 seconds) and Czech Ester Ledecka (+0.94 seconds). Kira Weidle-Winkelmann landed in a commanding eighth place after her downhill podium on Saturday.
“Yeah!” Emma Aicher shouted at the finish line, raising both arms in the air to celebrate. When the young all-rounder crossed the finish line at the Super-G in Tarvisio, her lead over her teammate Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, who had now placed second, was a full 1.22 seconds. Aicher had a flawless run and had top speed, especially on the flat part.
Aicher outclasses the Super-G elite
Aicher would find out just two race numbers later how valuable her time was. Lindsey Vonn entered the race, finishing 27 hundredths of a second behind the German despite a confident and courageous run. And all the other Super-G aces also bit their teeth on Aicher’s fabulous time: Sofia Goggia (+1.13s), Romane Miradoli (+1.04s), Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (+1.17s). “I was happy with the skiing from top to bottom”said Aicher on ORF.
Robinson falls heavily shortly before the finish
Alice Robinson caused a moment of shock when she fell heavily shortly before the finish. However, the New Zealander was able to get up on her own and after an initial medical check on site, the all-clear was given: Robinson had not suffered any injuries. However, with the failure, Robinson loses important points in the Super-G ranking, which she had led until the race. Both Goggia and Vonn were able to catch up with the New Zealander on Sunday.
DSV speed team is at the top of the world
In the race for the Super-G crystal ball, the DSV speed riders are still a little further back, but Weidle-Winkelmann and Aicher are currently annoying the speed elite – especially Lindsey Vonn: On Saturday Weidle-Winkelmann was faster than the exceptional US athlete, Emma Aicher relegated Vonn to second place on Sunday, as she did at the downhill run in St. Moritz in December.
The DSV mini-team – in most speed races only Weidle-Winkelmann and Aicher are at the start, but occasionally Fabiana Dorigo too – is among the world’s best, competing for podium positions and victories. “The trend is definitely going in the right direction”said Weidle-Winkelmann after the race on ZDF.
A trend that clearly points towards a medal. Aicher has now clinched his second win and fifth podium of the season, Weidle-Winkelmann has two podium finishes to his name. A few weeks before the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Aicher and Weidle-Winkelmann are taking on the roles of favorites.
Tarvisio is located in Aicher
However, the route also suited Aicher at the weekend: the Piste Di Prampero required the gliding skills that were necessary to be fast. As was the case the day before, the route was partly covered in fog, so the ski racers had to struggle with poor visibility – and on a slope that was new to them in the Ski World Cup. The last speed races in Tarvisio were 15 years ago. For the athletes, the weekend was also an opportunity to get to know the slopes in the Italian-Austrian-Slovenian border triangle.
