Pause for safety reasons
Mowinckel wins a borderline risky descent
January 27, 2024, 1:43 p.m
For Kira Weidle, the second descent in the Dolomites is quickly over. The season remains complicated for German ski hopefuls. A Norwegian races to victory. The speed race is again overshadowed by serious falls and even interrupted for a longer period of time.
After the chaos race on Friday with heavy falls and many injuries, Ragnhild Mowinckel from Norway won the borderline second World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. After a few crashes the day before, several riders didn’t reach the finish this time either. In strong winds and after an interruption of more than half an hour, the 31-year-old World Cup bronze medalist won the giant slalom ahead of Jacqueline Wiles from the USA (+0.35 seconds) and Sofia Goggia from Italy (+0.44 seconds). Kira Weidle was eliminated.
From the start, the race was dominated by the wind that swept across the icy “Olimpia delle Tofane”. After the start at 10.45 a.m., Goggia initially took the lead after several initially short interruptions. After 17 starters, the race jury ordered a longer break for safety reasons, and Mowinckel (start number 20) and Wiles (26) won the big prize in the ongoing wind lottery.
Weidle, who started with number ten, had long since been eliminated by this point: she barely avoided a serious fall on a wave shortly after the start, but after a pirouette, she slipped down the slope in a clearly annoyed manner. Katrin Hirtl-Stanggaßinger took 33rd and last place. The race didn’t end until 1:20 p.m. Two of the 45 participants were no longer allowed on the slopes. It was Mowinckel’s fourth World Cup victory.
During the chaos race on Friday, numerous runners were injured, some seriously, due to the treacherous piste conditions, and 23 percent of the starting field did not make it to the finish. Ski queen Mikaela Shiffrin got off lightly after a major fall, but canceled all starts until further notice. Olympic champion Corinne Suter from Switzerland suffered a torn cruciate ligament. A total of eight runners were missing on Saturday compared to Friday, including the ailing German Emma Aicher due to a bruised shoe edge.