Brignone Fastest in First Training as Vonn Foreruns
Brignone Sets the Pace
Racing for the first time on Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey downhill course, the world’s fastest women know they must enlist every tactical skill in the playbook.
“I know the course exactly from watching the men’s races,” Italy’s Federica Brignone said Wednesday after clocking the fastest downhill training run at 1 minute, 34.13 seconds. “It’s the same as the men’s. Theirs is a bit tougher because they have a lot of bumps. They cut all the bumps for us, but that’s a good thing, especially for the first time we race here.”
Women Tackle Birds of Prey
The women’s downhill course starts four gates below the men’s, midway through the gliding top section named The Flyway. Then racers hit the extremely steep Brink and Talon sections before sweeping through Pete’s Arena, over a series of large jumps, and into the turny Russi’s Ride section. Finally, they navigate The Abyss and return to the sunlit Red Tail jump.
“I love the steep, love the turns,” Brignone said. “The first part is exciting. From there to the end of the steep, you must be really smooth because the snow is really aggressive. You have to be ahead of the bumps and always on the line so you don’t have to push too much.”
The last time the women raced at Beaver Creek was the 2015 World Championships. They competed on a separate course adjacent to Birds of Prey called The Raptor, where they also competed in 2013.
“When I did World Champs, I was not a speed skier, so today I was really excited,” Brignone said. “This slope is just amazing. It has always been my dream to do Birds of Prey.”
The women’s tour last raced on Birds of Prey in 2011, running a relocated super-G from Val d’Isere. The women started below The Brink at the men’s SG weather start. Lindsey Vonn won that race. She was back on the course on Wednesday for the first time since but as a forerunner.
Vonn Returns to the Start Gate
“It was really fun,” Vonn said after crossing the finish line. “It felt so normal to be sitting in the start gate. I skied some turns well, and I was a little conservative, but it felt really good. I had such a good time inspecting with my teammates and getting back into the rhythm. Everything felt as it should. I prefer to be racing here, but beggars can’t be choosers. I’m just getting back into the swing of things. It’s a natural progression.”
Vonn will forerun the remaining training runs and races at Beaver Creek. Although she qualified to return to the World Cup, the updated FIS list won’t be out until next week, meaning she cannot race at Beaver Creek. She said she isn’t yet sure whether she will compete in St. Moritz next weekend.
“I’m going to watch some video and see how tomorrow goes, but I’m on course,” she said. “I’m on my plan. It’s going well, definitely better than expected. If you think about it, I’ve only skied a few days. I skied about nine days of downhill and 10 days of super-G in the last six years. I’d say, all things considered, that I’m at a quite accelerated progression. It’s more than I expected. Everything here is more than I expected, and I appreciate every second I have.”
Gut-Behrami and the Swiss Perspective
Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami is one of few other World Cup racers at Beaver Creek with previous experience on the Birds of Prey course from 2011. She was the second fastest in Wednesday’s training, 0.39 seconds behind Brignone.
“It’s a nice slope,” Gut-Behrami said. “Today for the first training, it was still on the easy side. When the snow is still groomed, it’s not too fast.”
Downhillers with a Plan
The Swiss star described the Birds of Prey course as “technical.”
“You have to ski well technically, but the last part is pretty flat,” she said. “You have to be a complete skier to win the race.”
Austria’s reigning World Cup downhill champion Cornelia Huetter approached the training run nervously, having watched the men soar about 80 yards through the air off the jumps.
While she didn’t yet have her race strategy mapped out after the first training run (in which she finished 11th), she had a solid idea of the lay of the land.
“It’s a very flat start, so you must push a lot. Then it’s going really steep and turny. You go almost into the net and have a lot of pressure on the outside ski. You go to the second gate; there’s a roll in it, so you must move your body forward. Then the next five gates, they’re really turny. With the steepness, you have to find the real timing. From the Pumphouse, it’s really fast. No sun was in it for my run, so it’s really bumpy. You have to go aerodynamic. Before the Golden Eagle, it’s turning a lot. The jumps are amazing. I was scared before, because I didn’t know how high or far it is. The last part is really nice because you are in the sun.”
Upcoming Races at Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek will host two more downhill training runs on Thursday and Friday before Saturday’s downhill race, marking the start of the World Cup speed event season. The opening super-G is scheduled for Sunday.
About the Author: Shauna Farnell
