GEPA pictures/ Wolfgang Grebien

Today, Austria celebrates Stephanie Venier’s big win. Venier has been on the podium three times this season, but this is her first-ever super-G victory. She’s the second Austrian to win a super-G this season, joining the list of five women with victories in this discipline. Only Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland has won twice this season.

“I made some mistakes, but all in all, I’m very happy now,” said Venier. “The last days weren’t that easy for me with all the pressure, and I had nothing to lose today.” She had finished 10th and 17th in her favorite discipline, downhill, the two previous days.

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Brignone

Of the women on the podium, Italian Federica Brignone was the first to ski. She is a great super-G skier, and with bib 6, she attacked the course aggressively, taking the early lead.

“Four-hundredths are burning a little bit, but it has been an amazing weekend for me in Crans, Montana,” Brignone said.”I had to put too much pressure on the right foot before the flat and I lost the speed. I really like the slope: it’s steep, it’s technical and it’s amazing,”

However, the next to ski was Venier. she has earned four previous super-G podiums, but today is her first victory. After disappointing results in the two Crans-Montana downhills on Friday and Saturday, she delivered the best super-G skiing of her career. Building a significant lead after the first three sectors, she had enough time buffer to end the day with a (-0.04) advantage over Brignone.

Bassino

Yesterday’s Italian downhill winner, Marta Bassino, continued to impress. She was fast at the top and bottom of the course but lost time to Venier in the middle to finish 3rd (+0.15).

“I think I made a mistake before the flat, but anyway I tried to stay focused on myself and tried to feel the speed,” Bassino said.

Notably, the red-hot Italian duo of Brignone and Bassino also shared the podium in yesterday’s downhill.

The battle for the SG globe continues

After winning the first race and finishing third in the second competition of the Crans-Montan speed series, the leader of the season SG standings, Lara Gut-Behrami, was unable to find that same level of speed in the super-G. She is one of the winningest super-G skiers of all time, but today, she bled time to the winner in all but one timing sector. She finished 6th.

“It’s always nice to race at home but those weekends are the most intense so I’m happy that it’s over in the end,” said the Swiss star,

With this result, Gut-Behrami lost some of her lead in the season’s standings, making it an even closer battle between her, Brignone, and Austrian Cornelia Huetter. There are four races left in the season, and hopefully, this exciting battle will continue and be decided at the finals. After today, the top three women are separated by only 34 points, and Brignone trails Gut-Behrami by only 5.

The women have four super-Gs left on the calendar. They’ll get their next chance to battle for the super-G discipline title on February 24th and 25th in Val di Fassa, Italy.

Stifel US Ski Team

The emerging Lauren Macuga of the Stifel US Ski Team was the first of the four Americans to ski. Macuga is experiencing a breakout season, and today, she once again showed her talent. The 28th racer to ski crossed the finish line in 17th (+1.68) and advanced her campaign to be among the season’s best 25 and earn her first trip to the World Cup finals. She ended the day ranked 19th.

Next up was her teammate, Isabella Wright. She had a tough weekend with two disappointing downhills where she didn’t finish. But she channeled that energy into today’s super-G and achieved her career’s best, finishing 17th (+1.58). It’s been a frustrating year for the experienced skier, so hopefully, this result will set her up for a strong finish. She still has plenty of races left to improve her rankings.

Today marked a significant milestone for their teammate, Tricia Mangan. She earned her first career super-G points, finishing 21st (+1.83). She had 23 previous World Cup super-G starts and she didn’t finish the last four. Scoring for the first time in any discipline is a big moment, and today, that special moment belonged to Mangan.

The time difference between the first and thirtieth skier was 2.20 seconds. With four super-G races left this season, the competition remains intense. The next showdown for the super-G discipline title awaits on February 24th and 25th in Val di Fassa, Italy. Stay tuned as the battle continues among these talented athletes.

Top 30 results and analysis of the fastest three and scoring Stifel US Ski Team members

Analysis of the fastest three and scoring Stifel US Ski Team members