Sofia Goggia warns all in rehearsal: "I did not force"

Sofia Goggia was the fastest of all in the first of the time trials ahead of Saturday’s downhill on the Oreiller – Killy slope in Val d’Isere. The champion from Bergamo stopped the stopwatch at a time of 1’41″77 making the difference especially in the middle section of the French course. A message to all the others, especially the Americans chasing her: Breezy Johnson is second at 0″66 followed by Jacqueline Wiles (+0″71) and Lindsey Vonn (+0″82). Elena Curtoni is the first of the other Italians, 14th.

“The first training is to study the situation; I think I had a good run, without forcing at all. There are points where you can do much better: we will devote the afternoon to study the lines properly and tomorrow there will be another test to exploit” said Sofia Goggia.

Laura Pirovano, who finished more than two seconds behind Sofia, expressed her feelings this way: “The slope is very beautiful, the snow is easy and that is precisely why we will have to find the tightest lines possible. Already from tomorrow’s practice I will try to move like this. I think the difference will be made in the Carousel turns and the three turns after La Bosse à Emile. I fit well here, I have competed only twice in my career and I have been doing quite well: in the wide spaces between the corners I struggle a bit to find references”.

Friday, Dec. 19, is scheduled for the second run, while the races are set for Saturday with the downhill at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday with the SuperG starting at 11.