We were impatiently awaiting the standoff between the Swedish Sara Hector, leader of the discipline with five points ahead of the French Tessa Worley before the last giant of the season in Méribel.
Were the two athletes too tense by the stakes? In any case, they completely passed through their first run. Worley is 8th, 1”60 behind Mikaela Shiffrin and Sara Hector 13th at 2”10. The two skiers will have to complete a second round of fire to get their hands on the crystal globe.
Because Mikaela Shiffrin, who will lift the general’s globe this afternoon in Méribel, leads with 82 hundredths ahead of Federica Brignone (2nd) and 84 hundredths over Ragnhild Mowinckel (3rd). The skier from Colorado, who had missed her Olympics in Beijing, seems completely liberated and becomes untouchable again. She could even still win the specialty crystal globe (she is 51 points behind Hector before this last giant).
On the Swiss side, Lara Gut-Behrami occupies the provisional 5th place, 1”32 behind Shiffrin and Michelle Gisin is 9th (at 1”66). The Obwalden injured her hip on Saturday during the slalom. Reduced by a calf injury, Wendy Holdener did not achieve a miracle: she finished 24th at 3”69.