Switzerland’s Lara Gut won the opening race of the World Cup season yesterday with victory in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier of Soelden, Austria.
Gut won the overall World Cup globe last season and got her 2016/17 campaign off to a successful start, but took the advice from Marcel Hirsch, the men’s 2015/16 overall World Cup winner, to ‘just ski’.
“It’s always special in Soelden and it’s my first time coming as an (overall) winner, so I tried just not to think and ski,” said Gut.
“I’m glad I had a fast first run because the second one was a fight.”
The 25-year-old, who won a downhill bronze at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, clocked 2:23.02 over the two runs to finish 1.44secs ahead of second-placed Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA and 1.93 ahead of Italy’s Marta Bassino, who was third.
Gut was the fastest in the morning’s first run down and put in a solid display in the second to claim the victory.
Shiffrin said she could handle being runner-up again after being beaten by Federica Brignone of Italy last season.
“It’s a big relief. I can be happy with it but I also know I can be better,” Shiffrin said.
“I really wanted to start off the season strong. It’s always better to win, but Lara was very strong, just like Federica last year. Today she raised the level.”
Shiffrin praised Gut for holding herself together. “She is like the queen of hammering the course and risking and really, really racing. I am getting close to it but I have a lot of respect for her to be able to come through the first race of the season.”
Marta Bassino was the only other skier to finish within two seconds of Gut to earn her first top-three result. It was the 100th podium finish in giant slalom by a woman from Italy, behind only Austria, Switzerland and France.
“I just tried to ski like in training,” Bassino said through an interpreter. “This is an amazing result, it means a lot to me.”
The former world champion Tessa Worley of France placed sixth, 2.88 off the lead. Eva-Maria Brem of Austria, who took the giant slalom title last season, came 5.14 behind in 26th after two disappointing runs. Petra Vlhova of Slovakia started 55th but posted the fastest second-run time to finish eighth.
US ski queen Lindsey Vonn sat out the opening race, as she looks to focus on downhill and super-G races this season.
Austria’s Anna Veith, overall women’s ski champion in 2014 and 2015 under her maiden name of Fenninger, missed all last season after sustaining a bad knee injury and skipped Soelden to give herself more time to recover.
Organisers said the race was attended by 14,000 spectators, including the 77-year-old Heinrich Messner, who won the inaugural World Cup race in 1967 — a slalom in Berchtesgaden, Germany. A men’s giant slalom on the same course is scheduled for today.
Results
1. Lara Gut (SUI) 2:23.02 (1:10.11 + 1:12.91); 2. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 2:24.46 (1:11.53 + 1:12.93); 3. Marta Bassino (ITA) 2:24.95 (1:11.95 + 1:13.00); 4. Stephanie Brunner (AUT) 2:25.30 (1:12.36 + 1:12.94); 5. Sofia Goggia (ITA) 2:25.79 (1:12.92 + 1:12.87); 6. Tessa Worley (FRA) 2:25.84 (1:12.88 + 1:12.96); 7. Michaela Kirchgasser (AUT) 2:26.03 (1:12.39 + 1:13.64); 8. Petra Vlhova (SVK) 2:26.25 (1:13.64 + 1:12.61); 9. Federica Brignone (ITA) 2:26.26 (1:12.08 + 1:14.18); 10. Ana Drev (SLO) 2:26.31 (1:12.62 + 1:13.69) 11. Coralie Frasse Sombet (FRA) 2:26.57 (1:13.54 + 1:13.03); 12. Rosina Schneeberger (AUT) 2:26.58 (1:13.42 + 1:13.16); 13. Ricarda Haaser (AUT) 2:26.67 (1:13.65 + 1:13.02); 14. Katharina Truppe (AUT) 2:26.69 (1:13.41 + 1:13.28); 15. Tina Weirather (LIE) 2:26.72 (1:13.49 + 1:13.23).