Snowboarding
“I don’t win downhill that usually, I’ve gained them, (however in) a race like this expertise is de facto vital.”
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — When Mikaela Shiffrin is even profitable downhill races, her rivals have much less hope of denying her a record-tying sixth general World Cup title.
Shiffrin mastered the sharper activates a sun-bathed course Saturday at St. Moritz to be 0.15 seconds quicker than standout downhill racer Sofia Goggia, who gained the super-G on Friday.
Attentively watching Goggia’s run from the end space, Shiffrin raised each arms and put her palms to her head on seeing that her lead had held up.
“It felt superb with my snowboarding,” mentioned Shiffrin, who was an early starter with the No. 3 bib. “I wasn’t positive if the remainder of the run was adequate to be quick.”
Federica Brignone was 0.17 again in third to finish a high-quality podium for the primary race this season within the marquee pace occasion. Racers had been clocked touching speeds of 115 kph (71 mph).
Shiffrin earned 100 World Cup factors for victory and already leads the season-long standings by 195 from Brignone, the 2020 general champion.
The 28-year-old American has 5 general titles, and a sixth would tie Austrian nice Annemarie Moser-Pröll’s document set within the Seventies.
Shiffrin prolonged her personal World Cup race wins document to 91 with simply her fourth in downhill. The newest was in March 2022 on the season-ending assembly at Courchevel, France.
Although Shiffrin is selective selecting her downhills — to suit a race and coaching schedule that prioritizes slalom and large slalom — she nonetheless had top-10 finishes in every of her 5 begins final season.
Shiffrin was practically six years into her World Cup profession when she first raced a downhill and now has 4 wins from simply 21 begins. She has by no means gained a serious championships medal in downhill.
“I don’t win downhill that usually, I’ve gained them, (however in) a race like this expertise is de facto vital,” she mentioned.
The race was run in vivid sunshine beneath clear blue skies on a -5 C (23 F) day at St. Moritz the place the end is at an altitude above 2,000 meters (6,500 toes).
Victory was keyed by Shiffrin’s cleaner, quicker run by means of the twisting center part of the two.5 kilometer (1.55-mile) course. It suited her technical abilities greater than a pace specialist like Goggia, a former Olympic downhill champion who has topped the season-long World Cup downhill standings 4 occasions.
“I’m actually pleased with my efficiency,” Goggia mentioned. “Snowboarding like this, a bit soiled with a mistake ultimately, I’m nonetheless second, so it’s OK, I take it. Tomorrow is a brand new chapter.”
St. Moritz phases one other super-G on Sunday.
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