Goggia wins her fourth straight Lake Louise
With two sectors left to the finish, she was only 0.06 faster than second place Ortlieb; however, as expected, she found a way to win. Goggia skied 0.28 faster than Ortlieb over the final two flat sections to win by 0.34. Notably, this is Goggia’s fourth consecutive Lake Louise downhill victory.
With intense skiing for the entire course, Austria’s Nina Ortlieb finished 0.34 seconds behind the reigning Italian speed queen. Today the Austrian experienced her third career World Cup podium.
“I tried to ski with a lot of power, because it’s really icy,” Ortlieb explained. “I thought, ‘Take your chance and push.’ I think it worked well.”
Switzerland’s racers Corrine Suter skied well and finished 3rd. Suter finished just 0.37 seconds behind the winning Goggia. Missing second place by only 0.03 seconds had to be both rewarding and disappointing.
However, it was clear today that Goggia likes Lake Louise as much as “The Lake” legend Lindsey Vonn.
“I skied exactly the way I wanted to in my head,” Goggia said. “I was reading well the terrain.”
The 30-year-old Goggia is dominating the Lake Louise downhill track in a way not seen since the days of Lindsey Vonn. Goggia has now won four straight World Cup downhills on this course, including two last season. The retired Vonn had a streak of four in a row World Cup downhill wins at Lake Louise from 2011-12. She also had a separate streak of five straight (2006-09).
With less effort required on the shortened course, we knew it would be tight. Lake Louise also provided the second day of blue sky. Additionally, the women offered an entertaining display of courageous skiing because it was the 5th run on this year’s course.
If you like fast, powerful, and clean downhill, Saturday is what you hoped for. Although the face tape indicates how cold the temperatures were, there wasn’t anything for a spectator to complain about.
Again, US athletes Bella Wright and Breezy Johnson finished with World Cup points.
Johnson continues to return to form after her injury, but it is good that she starts the journey with two scores. Bella Wright was the top American in both downhills and looks very strong and close to finding new limits. Wright finished 18th, and Johnson finished 26th.
Mikaela Shiffrin skipped the speed races in Lake Louise to squeeze in more training for the tech events.
Immediately in front of Johnson was Canada’s best finisher, Marie-Michele Gagnon. Gagnon skied solidly from the top to the finish except for sector three. On the pitch, she lost 0.82 to Goggia and didn’t carry the speed required to complete for a higher position into the flats.
Three athletes in the top 10 represented the Swiss team. Additionally, Austria had two, Italy had two, and Norway, Slovenia, and France each had one.
Analysis of the top three, North Americans in the top 30 and top 30 results overall
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
About the Author: SR Staff Report
