Italian skier Brignone wins World Cup GS, gets 1st victory for her team in Austrian event since 2002

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SEMMERING, Austria (AP) — Federica Brignone held on to her opening-run lead at a women’s World Cup giant slalom on Saturday, becoming the first Italian winner of the Semmering event in 22 years.

Brignone could even afford a mistake near the end of her second run as she defeated Olympic GS champion Sara Hector by 0.57 seconds.

Alice Robinson of New Zealand was nine-tenths of a second off the pace in third.

“It was not easy the second run, but the slope was amazing,” said Brignone, who earned her 14th career win in GS but had not been on the podium here before. “I really wanted it, I’m so happy. It’s been a tough race but I felt really good, I wanted to fight and I was not too stressed.”

Valérie Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., raced to fourth place, just 0.04 seconds off the podium, in her third race back from injury. It was Grenier’s 11th World Cup top five and her second top five in Semmering.

“Really happy with the race today, and at the same time it hurts a little seeing how close I was to the podium,” said Grenier. “It feels really good to get fourth place in just my second GS race back from injury.

“I’m happy with my skiing and feeling confident going into the next races.”

Two other Canadian women finished in the points today with Cassidy Gray of Panorama, B.C., in 20th and Britt Richardson of Canmore, Alta., in her 25th World Cup start, placing 23rd.

Justine Lamontagne of St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., in her fifth World Cup GS start, finished 57th and missed advancing to the second run.

In the absence of the injured Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan was the leading American racer, trailing Brignone by 1.11 in fifth, matching her best result in giant slalom.

Lindsey Vonn, who made her return to World Cup racing in Switzerland last week, only competes in the speed events of downhill and super-G.

No Italian skier had won the race near the Austrian capital of Vienna since Karen Putzer triumphed in 2002. The race in Semmering is held every two years.

At 34 years and five months, Brignone improved the record she already held as the oldest race winner in women’s World Cup history.

“I would like to beat my record once again, maybe in the season,” the Italian skier said. “I’ve made a Christmas and New Year’s present, amazing!”

Earlier Saturday, Brignone mastered a tricky passage near the end of the Zauberberg course where Italian coach Giorgio Pavoni had set the gates for the first run.

“It’s good, rhythmic and with a lot of turns,” said Brignone, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist and 2011 world champion in the discipline.

Defending overall champion Lara Gut-Behrami, second after the opening run, was slowed in the second when she hooked a gate with her left arm halfway down the course and the Swiss racer dropped to ninth position.

Brignone has won four of the last five giant slaloms and went top of the discipline standings this season, overtaking Hector.

Shiffrin will also miss Sunday’s slalom on the same hill. There’s no timetable for her return to racing after the U.S. star underwent abdominal surgery to clean out a deep wound she received in a GS crash on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont.

Shiffrin has won the GS in Semmering four times, including both races in 2022 when the event featured an additional GS to make up for a cancelation earlier that season.

She is the record holder for the most World Cup wins – both in giant slalom (22) and overall (99).

Also missing was Petra Vlhova, the former overall champion from Slovakia who won the race in 2020, after she suffered a setback in her recovery from knee surgery.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing