Sara Hector, Alice Robinson and Lara Gut-Behrami in Kronplatz: GEPA pictures/Matic Klansek

Lara Gut-Behrami showcased her exceptional skiing prowess, clinching her third giant slalom victory of the season in commanding fashion.

The way Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami has performed lately, it was no surprise to see her dominate the day. She now has eight career World Cup GS wins. Additionally, she has earned 42 World Cup wins, racing downhill, super-G, and GS. It is also her fifth World Cup victory of the season.

“I know what I wanted to do in my career; I already did it,” said Gut-Behrami. “I’m trying to enjoy my last years — if I win, it’s good; if I don’t, I try to have fun at least.”

“I think it has been a few interesting days,” she said. “I’m happy about my skiing, but right now, I don’t really have a clear mind to understand what’s going on — but I’m happy and tired.”

Final five

The fastest five women from the first run were all within a second of each other. The first of those to ski was the woman who sits second in the season’s giant slalom standings, Italian Federica Brignone. However, she could only ski fast enough to cross the finish into 2nd place. You could see her frustration, but her teammate Sofia Goggia maintained a (-0.06) lead. Brigone finished 6th,

Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel was the next to ski. Fourth, after the morning run, she delivered again and could cross the finish with a (0.16) advantage over Goggia. However, the fastest three women from the morning’s run had yet to ski.

Hector

The first of those three was the impressive Swedish Olympic Champion Sara Hector. She needed a great day to stay in touch with Gut-Behrami in the season’s GS title competition. She didn’t disappoint; she crossed with a (-0.14) lead and a guaranteed podium. It is the third Hector GS podium of the season. Her 16th of her career.

“I was skiing very good in training, but then to do it in the race, it’s never easy,” Hector said.

Lara was skiing amazingly well today; it was very nice to see,” she said. “So, watch and learn for the next race.”

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Robinson

The next to compete was New Zealand’s 22-year-old Alice Robinson. She lost all of her first run advantage but crossed-tied with Hector. However, both women witnessed first-run leader Gut-Behrami add to her advantage and win by over a second. Robinson would share the second step of the podium with Hector.

“I’m really happy with where my skiing is at the moment,” said the New Zealander.

“I feel like I’m in a really good position where I can ski at 95, 90 percent and still be fast, whereas in the past, I felt like I’ve either been really fast or completely out of it, so it feels good to be finding a bit of neutral ground with my skiing.”

It is Robinson’s third GS podium of the season and she improved her season’s GS rank to 5th. Notably, she has three World Cup GS victories on her resume; she was 17 when she won her first.

Unfortunately, the enthusiastic Kronplatz spectators would not see an Italian on the podium.

During the second run, the early leaders were all Austrians. First, it was Stephanie Brunner, then Elisabeth Kappaurer, followed by Julia Scheib. However, five of the first eight to ski the final run were Austrians. After the first ten to ski had completed their second run, the Austrian duo of Scheib and Kappaurer were first and second.

It was the 13th racer to ski, Swtizerland’s Camille Rast, who finally took the leader’s chair from Scheib. At the end of the race, the Austrian Scheib gained 16 positions during the second run and finished 9th (+2.04). Rast kept the lead for the next six racers. She also advanced an impressive ten positions during the finale and finished the race in 8th (+1.96).

The Croatian rising star 20-year-old Zrinka Ljutic finally took the lead from Rast. Ljutic had finished the morning ranked 12th. She kept the lead for the next three racers. It was downhill Italian superstar Goggia who displaced her from the lead. Goggia was eighth fastest in the morning and crossed the finish with a (+0.54) advantage. The Italian crowd erupted. Goggia is now ranked 9th in the season’s GS standings.

It was clear the Austrians loved the course set by the US coach. Three additional Austrian racers improved significantly during the second run. Ricarda Haaser moved up ten positions, Kappaurer advanced ten and Brunner gained 11.

The second run, set by Stifel US Ski Teams Magnus Andersson, was nearly three seconds slower primarily because of a more significant offset of the gates.

North Americans

The first of the three North Americans to ski the second run was Canada’s Britt Richardson. At times this season, Richardson has skied brilliantly. However, today, she crossed the second run finish into 9th and ended the day 18th (+2.87). She is now ranked 25th in GS for the season.

The next to ski was Stifel US Ski Team’s AJ Hurt. Hurt was on a flier, adding to her first run advantage when she surpassed her limit and slid on her hip. However, she gathered herself and finished close enough to Gut-Behrami to score a few points. She ended the race last of the finishers in 27th (+4.37). Her season GS rank is now 17th.

The final and fastest North American was Paula Moltzan. Hurt and Moltzan were skiing a course set by their coach, but it didn’t work out exceptionally well for either. Moltzan skied well but crossed the finish in 4th (+0.44) behind the then-leader Ljutic. She finishes the day in a very admirable 11th (+2.37). Her season GS rank is now 12th.

With Gut-Behrami’s dominance on full display, the women’s giant slalom event delivered thrilling competition, setting the stage for the upcoming races in Soldeu, Andorra, on February 10-11.

Kronplatz World Cup GS results and analysis of the fastest three and North Americans.

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Analysis of the quickest three and North Americans