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The Norwegian is in 2nd place with start number 30 and ousts Lara Gut-Behrami with her exploit in 4th place.
The extended pedestal
- 1. Ilka Stuhec (SLO) 1:04.73 minutes
- 2. Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) +0.26s
- 3. Elena Curtoni (ITA) +0.34s
- 4. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) +0.35
- 4. Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR) +0.35
Lara Gut-Behrami just missed her first downhill podium of the winter in Cortina. In the end, she was a measly hundredth of a second behind in third place. The Ticino rider had shared third place with Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel when Kajsa Vickhoff Lie with start number 30 started the race.
The 24-year-old Norwegian also made leader Ilka Stuhec nervous with her ride, as she was ahead of the Slovenian until the last split. Only in the last section did she lose a decisive amount of time to the downhill world champion of 2017 and 2019, who was able to win a World Cup race for the first time since December 2018.
Vickhoff Lie’s exploit is no accident. The two-time junior world champion from 2018 was considered a great speed talent early on, but was stopped in February 2021 by a serious leg injury. In Val di Fassa she broke her tibia and fibula in Super-G.
Because of Stuhec’s victory, for the first time in the 6th descent of the winter, no Italian was on top. Elena Curtoni, the only downhill winner alongside Sofia Goggia this winter, completed the podium in third place.
The other Swiss women
- 6. Priska Nufer +0.37 s
- 10. Michelle Gisin +0.64
- 18. Jasmine Flury +0.98
- 22. Delia Durrer +1.24
- 24. Joana Haehlen +1.40
Priska Nufer also landed just off the podium. The woman from Obwalden was only 3 hundredths short of Curtoni’s 3rd place in 6th place, as the gaps at the front were extremely narrow. For Nufer it is by far the best downhill result this winter. The day before she was only 26th on the “Tofana”.
In addition to Gut-Behrami and Nufer, Michelle Gisin also knew how to convince. Apart from Gut-Behrami, no other Swiss made it into the top 15 the day before.
The beaten one
Sofia Goggia was not able to double in her home race. The winner of Friday’s first descent went “all in” as always, but this time she didn’t finish. The four-time winner of the season fell in the last sector, but got back up immediately and crossed the finish line. Goggia had already celebrated a victory in the first race in Cortina last year and was eliminated in the Super-G the day after. At that time she injured her knee and subsequently feared that she would not be able to take part in the Olympic Games. In Beijing, she sensationally secured silver in the downhill.
The Absent
Meanwhile, Corinne Suter decided not to start. The woman from Schwyz fell violently on the first descent on Friday. According to Swiss-Ski, she did not suffer any serious injuries, but she skipped the race as a precaution and left the Dolomites early. Suter became downhill world champion in Cortina two years ago.
Here’s how to proceed
The World Cup weekend in Cortina ends on Sunday with a Super-G, the fifth this season. The first of two scheduled giant slaloms will continue in Kronplatz on Tuesday.