Featured Image: Cortina downhill podium. Credit: GEPA

The conditions were stellar in Cortina D’Ampezzo today for the women’s World Cup downhill. It was a bluebird sky day with warmer conditions. The colder temperatures hardened the snow overnight, establishing a solid track for the women. 

However, it was a hard day for the ski racing community as the superstar, Mikaela Shiffrin, had a crash that left her limping off the course. Shiffrin managed to rise to her feet after hitting the netting, coming off the Delta jump into a hard right-footed turn. But, she did have to employ her poles as makeshift crutches to tend to her left leg and move off the track. She was evacuated by helicopter to the nearest hospital. 

Being the fantastic teammate that Shiffrin is, she immediately sends a text to her teammates stating, “It’s all ok ladies, the surface is money, you got this!”

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The Delta jump, which moved quickly into a hard right-footed turn, also caused several athletes, including other top athletes such as Priska Nufer (SUI), Corinne Suter (SUI), and Federica Brignone (ITA), not to finish. 

In that particular segment of the course, it was demonstrated that if the athlete took too direct of a line and failed to initiate the turn promptly, it resulted in an insufficient distance for the women to navigate through that section securely.

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland kicked out of the start after a long hold from Shiffrin’s crash. She executed the critical sections of the course with control and found a line that kept her in the leader’s chair for nine racers. However, Austrian Stephanie Venier, bib-18, came through the finish +0.39 ahead of Gut-Behrami’s time. 

Venier was behind the lead through the first three sections of the course but made up the needed time at the end of her run. 

She stated, “It was crazy, but I had a really good feeling in the morning, and I think I managed to stay focused. I am really happy,” she continued, “The last few years were a lot of ups and downs, but I tried to get a good feeling back. Yeah, I am back!”

After her 2nd-place result in the Altenmarkt-Zauchensee downhill, she had confidence coming into Cortina, which showed throughout the course. Today was Venier’s second win and 6th podium in downhill.

Three-Way Tie for Third

Sofia Goggia has stood on top of the podium twice in Cortina out of the three downhill events hosted. On this run, she continued to ski normally, holding nothing back. But, it did not give her the winning run she aimed for. Nevertheless, she rounded out the podium with a surprising three-way tie with Austrian Christina Ager (bib-24) and Canadian Valérie Grenier (bib-31).

Today marked Ager and Grenier’s first downhill podium finishes. Overall, it was Ager’s first World Cup podium in any discipline, Grenier’s 4th and Goggia’s 53rd. It was an exhilarating day for the athletes.

Grenier stated, “I still can’t believe it. I felt really good with my run today. The whole way down I was on the line I wanted but when I crossed the finish and saw third place, I was shocked,” she continued, “There were no expectations coming into today and the team kept it pretty relaxed at the top as we were warming-up. It can help sometimes when you just relax and go ski.”

North Americans

The North Americans packed themselves into the top 30, with six scoring downhill points in the Cortina downhill. After their leader, Mikaela Shiffrin, crashed, the team had to find the courage to attack this race. They all did an excellent job of regaining focus to put down scoring runs.

The second fastest North American of the day was Stifel US Ski Team athlete Jacqueline Wiles, achieving 13th place. It was her 5th top-15 on the Olympia Delle Tofane track. Her top result in this World Cup downhill event was 3rd place in 2018.

Teammate Lauren Macuga achieved a 16th-place finish, her first top 20 in downhill. Isabella Wright also skied her way into a top-20 finish, crossing the finish line in 18th place.

Keely Cashman and Tricia Mangan experienced great excitement as they secured the 27th and 28th positions, respectively. Notably, this marked Tricia Mangan’s third occasion of finishing within the top 30 and Keely Cashman’s seventh in a World Cup downhill event.

Top 30 Results

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Analysis of the Fastest Three and North Americans