2024-03-03 13:32:57
The decision in the Super-G World Cup for women’s skiing will be made at the final in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. However, in the fog race at Kvitfjell, Cornelia Hütter’s starting position deteriorated. The Styrian only ended up in seventh place on Sunday (+1.27 seconds). Hütter would have to catch up with Lara Gut-Behrami, who came second behind the untouchable Italian Federica Brignone (+0.61), by 69 points on March 22nd in Salzburg. Brignone is also still involved, 74 points behind the Swiss.
Behind Ester Ledecka (CZE/+0.79), Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) and Lauren Macuga (USA), Stephanie Venier finished sixth (+1.26) and was the best Austrian, but mathematically she no longer has a chance of making it to Super-G -Crystal. Behind Hütter, Ariane Rädler also finished in the top ten in eighth place (+1.33) in the stop-and-go race. Mirjam Puchner missed a wave in the lower section and then had no chance (27th/+3.42). Franziska Gritsch (21st) and Ricarda Haaser (25th) finished ahead of the Salzburg player.
The race developed into a hanging game. Banks of fog kept rolling over the lower part of the route. Many interruptions and bad luck were the result. After numbers 3 (Rädler) and 15 (Gut-Behrami) there was a longer stop. In the meantime, an abandonment without a score seemed not unlikely. Almost three hours following the planned start, the eighth Super-G of the season was finally canceled in front of number 42. Seven runners took off their seat belts without having achieved anything.
“I should have driven a few passages more uncompromisingly. When I start to think while driving, it’s usually not that fast. That’s what happened to me today,” said Hütter following her weakest Super-G result this winter. She spoke of what felt like a safe race. “That’s more important than fair or not fair.”
She didn’t feel very comfortable on the skis that day, and Hütter bravely accepted the setback. With home advantage behind her, the Styrian wants to “put everything on one card” in order to become the first Austrian since Renate Götschl in 2006/07 to immortalize herself with Super-G crystal. “Everything is possible until the last race. That was my goal for the season. Please come to Saalbach everyone,” Hütter made an appeal to the ORF television viewers.
Hütter was only able to keep up with Brignone’s unleashed drive in the upper part. As with her previous day’s win above, Gut-Behrami lost a lot of time, but kept the deficit within limits in the final part. The Swiss course setter had turned it around, which benefited the strong giant slalomists. The running time (1:37.30) was almost four seconds higher than the day before.
“There are two high-quality technicians at the front once more, that’s no coincidence,” said Venier. “Fede and Lara are in brutally good shape. You can send them down in a complete fog soup and they would still be in front.” She left a better placement and the crystal chance with a wide line in the final part. “I won’t let it spoil my mood. It’s still the season of my career, it’s really cool,” emphasized Venier.
Brignone might no longer be seen on TV at times, but once once more showed off her mental maturity when flying blind. “If visibility is bad, it’s good for me. It wasn’t easy, I had a lot of fog. But I had the Super-G in my head and tried everything,” said the now four-time season winner following her 25th career victory.
In the overall World Cup, Gut-Behrami made a preliminary decision in Kvitfjell with places one and two. With six races remaining – including two giant slaloms and two slaloms – Mikaela Shiffrin would already have to catch up with 385 points. Brignone is now second, 326 points behind. Before the Saalbach final, a giant slalom and a slalom will take place in Are. In Sweden, Shiffrin also wants to return following her injury break.
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