Gut-Behrami triumphs in Crans Montana. Pirovano, Bassino and Brignone at the foot of the podium
Gut-Behrami triumphs in Crans Montana. Pirovano, Bassino and Brignone at the foot of the podium
Lara Gut-Behrami triumphs in the first downhill at Crans Montana, taking her 44th career victory and stretching in the overall standings, rising to 1314 points against the 1209 of Mikaela Shiffrin, who has decided to skip speed events until the end of the season. The Swiss put on the slope shortened by four gates due to the great heat, an almost perfect skiing, finishing with a time of 1'19"11, leaving teammate Jasmine Flury, tied with Austria's Cornelia Hutter, at 21 hundredths.
Below the podium, there’è a blue triptych, with Laura Pirovano once again taking fourth place just 9 hundredths from the Flury-Hutter pair and 30 hundredths from Gut-Behrami. Bravo to the woman from Trentino, who was able to take advantage of the low starting number and now close to the positions that count.
"Obviously the hundredths always burn a little’ – admitted the Pirovano to the official Fisi website -, forò I like to look on the bright side: it was a short race and we knew we would all be very close. It’ s true that I have two athletes in front by nine hundredths, but I have many behind by very little. However, I am there’, just below the podium and there are still two races left. I hope I can improve".
Slipping into fifth place with number 21 was an’excellent Marta Bassino, only 38 hundredths behind the leader, but the only athlete with a bib over 20 to manage to slip into the top 10: "One of the best downhill runs of my career and this è a real downhill. I am very happy because é I avoided making the little mistakes I had made during practice, putting it all together. Actuallyà I didn’t expect it becauseé this snow slows you down so much if you make the slightest mistake. We’re there, close to the best. I have a moreù solid skiing lately and I am continuing on this path that per puts me to do well in all conditions".
She follows in sixth place Federica Brignone, clearly in the race for the podium until the penultimate turn, when she è slipped slightly to the’outside, predating the fatal 3 tenths. However, the Valle d’Aosta woman closes 46 hundredths from the winner and maintains third place in the overall standings.
"I missed the penultimate turn – commented Brignone -, I throw away races on races with very good intermediates. However, a sixth place in the downhill for me è a good result. I want to look at the glass half full. I could have been on the podium for sure. I tried to do the race at my best, but unfortunately that mistake è cost me so much. I am growing again, I have to be able to be in the race at 100 percent. I had a good race today. I wasn’t so loose yet, but less stiff than usual, but I made the turns at the right time. A mistake fits and tomorrow I will try again".
Nicol Delago accuses a second behind and è sixteenth, while Teresa Runggaldier improves who è twenty-first at 1"33. Pù lagging behind: Roberta Melesi with 2"18 down, Nadia Delago with 2"25, Vicky Bernardi with 2"47 and Sara Thaler with 2"61.
In the Specialty Cup; Gut-Behrami climbs to 309 points, only 41 from Sofia Goggia, and third è Stephanie Venier at 63.
For Saturday è the second downhill is scheduled, again starting at 10:30 a.m.
