SuperG, triumph in Val Gardena for Mattia Casse
Mattia Casse in triumph
A splendid Mattia Casse conquers the Saslong. The superG in Val Gardena (Bolzano) that opened the long Dolomite stage saw the 34-year-old Piedmontese dominate the scene to take the first success of his World Cup career, enriching a palmares that before today counted three third places and numerous placings close to the podium. It’s the second Italian success ever in the Val Gardena super-G after Werner Heel’s in 2008. Italy had been missing from the top step of the World Cup superG podium since Paris won in Soldeu in March 2019.
A test bordering on perfection, that of Casse, who was good at interpreting the Gardena/Gröden course at its best to pounce on the finish line in 1’28″23 and immediately leave the feeling of having built something great.
When a few minutes later, Marco Odermatt è inserted himself behind him with a gap of 0″43 despite no macroscopic errors, that feeling è grew even more. But in Val Gardena the surprise è always around the corner and on the occasion to keep everyone in suspense è was the American Jared Goldberg, excellent in the top section and the final stretch to finish in Casse’s wake by a single hundredth of a second. The North American’s first podium finish slips Odermatt to third, with the surprising Norwegian Fredrik Moeller fourth at 0″54 followed by the’other Swiss Stefan Rogentin and Canadian Cameron Alexander, paired in fifth at 0″57 from Casse.
Good test also for Dominik Paris and Pietro Zazzi, tenth and eleventh straddling the top10 of the day: the South Tyrolean moved well in the upper part of the course, but an error in interpretation in the less steep section, increased the gap to 0″77 from Casse. A crescendo test instead for the Valtellinese, an excellent interpreter of the second part of the Saslong to hit a precious 11th place at 0″97 from the lead. Also doing well was Nicolò Molteni from Brianza, who confirmed his condition and with bib number 45 made his way to 16th place at 1″36 from his teammate, with Giovanni Franzoni 30th at 1″82. Out of the points zone, on the other hand, Christof Innerhofer who pays 1″96 from Casse, out go Benjamin Alliod and Max Perathoner.
Tomorrow it’s back on track on the Saslong with the downhill: the start at 11:45 a.m. with live TV coverage on Rai2 and Eurosport.
