German skiers seem to be gathering momentum on the international stage with just a few weeks to go before the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. After Thomas Dressen charged his way to his first World Cup win at the Hahnenkamm last weekend, Viktoria Rebensburg won Tuesday’s giant slalom at Kronplatz, Italy. With a combined time of 2:06.19, she bested Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel and Italy’s Federica Brignone, who took second and third, respectively. The victory was extra special after she spent two weeks sidelined by the flu.

“I just had to cure the disease. It was so extreme that there was no chance of racing…” the 28-year-old explained. “I am very happy with this return after such a break. My goal was to ski well, and I have succeeded to a great extent.”

Advertisement

The result marked the German’s third GS win of the season, though her first since the Killington race in November. With a total of 14 career wins in the discipline, she is ranked third for all time amongst women tied with Anita Wachter, Lise-Marie Morerod and Tina Maze. Beyond that, Rebensburg overtook Mikaela Shiffrin in the GS standings after the American crashed in the first run. The German has 422 points in the discipline while Shiffin has 385.

Meanwhile, Mowinckel celebrated her second career World Cup podium about a month after her third-place finish in the Val d’Isere super-G. The Norwegian has been close to the GS podium for years including a few fourth-place finishes where she was in striking distance. She proved that she’s found her stride, winning the first run and maintaining her composure in the second run to stay on the podium, only 0.03 seconds shy of the win.

Brignone snagged the final spot on the podium. The Italian won the race in 2017, so she knew she could win on this steep, icy slope. With a combined time of 2:06.85, she earned the 23rd World Cup podium finish of her career. The Italian currently sits fourth in the GS standings with 245 points with Mowinckel hot on her heels in fifth position with 231 points.

While it was an exciting day for Europeans across the continent, the North Americans struggled. Megan McJames, the only American competitor aside from Shiffrin, did not qualify for a second run, taking 33rd in the first run. She has already qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team based on her world ranking in GS.

Canada’s Valerie Grenier did not finish the first run and Candace Crawford did not qualify. Mexican athlete Sarah Schleper, formerly of the U.S. Ski Team, also pushed out of the start gate, but did not qualify for a second run.

The ladies now head to Lenzerheide, Switzerland, for the lone alpine combined before the Games in addition to a slalom and GS from Jan. 26-28.

Top 10

  1. Viktoria Rebensburg (GER) – Stoeckli / Lange / Marker
  2. Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR) – Head / Head / Head
  3. Federica Brignone (ITA) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
  4. Marta Bassino (ITA) – Salomon / Salomon / Salomon
  5. Sara Hector (SWE) –  Head / Head / Head
  6. Tessa Worley (FRA) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
  7. Estelle Alphand (SWE) – Head / Head / Head
  8. Irene Curtoni (ITA) –  Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
  9. Melanie Meillard (SUI) –  Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
  10. Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Head / Head / Head

Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time Diff. FIS Points WC Points
 1  3  205218 REBENSBURG Viktoria 1989 GER  1:03.33  1:02.86  2:06.19  0.00  100
 2  12  425929 MOWINCKEL Ragnhild 1992 NOR  1:03.24  1:02.98  2:06.22  +0.03  0.23  80
 3  4  297601 BRIGNONE Federica 1990 ITA  1:03.67  1:03.18  2:06.85  +0.66  5.13  60
 4  8  299276 BASSINO Marta 1996 ITA  1:03.32  1:03.75  2:07.07  +0.88  6.83  50
 5  11  506399 HECTOR Sara 1992 SWE  1:03.50  1:03.65  2:07.15  +0.96  7.46  45
 6  1  196928 WORLEY Tessa 1989 FRA  1:04.73  1:03.37  2:08.10  +1.91  14.83  40
 7  26  197616 ALPHAND Estelle 1995 SWE  1:03.73  1:04.39  2:08.12  +1.93  14.99  36
 8  21  296509 CURTONI Irene 1985 ITA  1:04.26  1:03.92  2:08.18  +1.99  15.45  32
 9  15  516528 MEILLARD Melanie 1998 SUI  1:05.14  1:03.21  2:08.35  +2.16  16.77  29
 10  9  516280 HOLDENER Wendy 1993 SUI  1:05.08  1:03.49  2:08.57  +2.38  18.48  26
 11  14  565268 DREV Ana 1985 SLO  1:04.85  1:04.11  2:08.96  +2.77  21.51  24
 12  6  56217 BRUNNER Stephanie 1994 AUT  1:04.65  1:04.33  2:08.98  +2.79  21.67  22
 13  17  425771 HAVER-LOESETH Nina 1989 NOR  1:05.12  1:03.88  2:09.00  +2.81  21.82  20
 14  16  505679 HANSDOTTER Frida 1985 SWE  1:04.54  1:04.58  2:09.12  +2.93  22.75  18
 15  7  296259 MOELGG Manuela 1983 ITA  1:04.76  1:04.41  2:09.17  +2.98  23.14  16
 16  25  56032 SCHILD Bernadette 1990 AUT  1:04.78  1:04.46  2:09.24  +3.05  23.69  15
 16  22  56174 HAASER Ricarda 1993 AUT  1:04.94  1:04.30  2:09.24  +3.05  23.69  15
 18  18  565373 ROBNIK Tina 1991 SLO  1:05.33  1:03.99  2:09.32  +3.13  24.31  13
 19  24  565471 HROVAT Meta 1998 SLO  1:04.97  1:04.46  2:09.43  +3.24  25.16  12
 20  10  55898 BREM Eva-Maria 1988 AUT  1:04.74  1:04.84  2:09.58  +3.39  26.33  11
 21  23  197319 BAUD MUGNIER Adeline 1992 FRA  1:05.64  1:04.02  2:09.66  +3.47  26.95  10
 22  19  516268 WILD Simone 1993 SUI  1:05.43  1:04.38  2:09.81  +3.62  28.11  9
 23  13  705423 VLHOVA Petra 1995 SVK  1:04.48  1:05.46  2:09.94  +3.75  29.12  8
 24  20  197124 FRASSE SOMBET Coralie 1991 FRA  1:05.63  1:04.53  2:10.16  +3.97  30.83  7
 25  27  426187 LYSDAHL Kristin 1996 NOR  1:05.34  1:05.17  2:10.51  +4.32  33.55  6
 26  5  516138 GUT Lara 1991 SUI  1:05.46  1:05.14  2:10.60  +4.41  34.25  5
 27  47  565401 BUCIK Ana 1993 SLO  1:05.58  1:05.03  2:10.61  +4.42  34.33  4
 28  44  425921 HAUGEN Kristine Gjelsten 1992 NOR  1:06.06  1:04.83  2:10.89  +4.70  36.50  3
 29  39  56388 LIENSBERGER Katharina 1997 AUT  1:06.12  1:05.24  2:11.36  +5.17  40.15  2
Did not finish 2nd run
 48  56416 SCHEIB Julia 1998 AUT  1:06.07  0
Did not qualify for 2nd run
 60  785007 JANUSKEVICIUTE Ieva 1994 LTU  1:15.93  0
 59  685018 TSIKLAURI Nino 1993 GEO  1:08.95  0
 58  299042 FIORANO Jasmine 1995 ITA  1:08.39  0
 57  665009 SHKANOVA Maria 1989 BLR  1:08.87  0
 55  155699 PAULATHOVA Katerina 1993 CZE  1:07.12  0
 54  536481 SCHLEPER Sarah 1979 MEX  1:10.63  0
 53  299388 BERTANI Luisa Matilde Maria 1996 ITA  1:06.76  0
 50  197215 MASSIOS Marie 1992 FRA  1:07.41  0
 49  107387 CRAWFORD Candace 1994 CAN  1:06.83  0
 43  307255 ISHIKAWA Haruna 1994 JPN  1:07.90  0
 42  516562 RAST Camille 1999 SUI  1:06.36  0
 40  516407 KASPER Vanessa 1996 SUI  1:06.31  0
 38  197651 DIREZ Clara 1995 FRA  1:06.36  0
 37  385096 POPOVIC Leona 1997 CRO  1:06.14  0
 36  306977 MUKOGAWA Sakurako 1992 JPN  1:07.03  0
 33  538284 MCJAMES Megan 1987 USA  1:07.09  0
 30  196725 BARIOZ Taina 1988 FRA  1:06.53  0
 29  225525 TILLEY Alex 1993 GBR  1:06.47  0
Did not finish 1st run
 56  56282 RESCH Stephanie 1995 AUT  0
 52  435334 GASIENICA-DANIEL Maryna 1994 POL  0
 51  185430 HONKANEN Riikka 1998 FIN  0
 46  107613 GRENIER Valerie 1996 CAN  0
 45  415232 ROBINSON Alice 2001 NZL  0
 41  485731 ROMANOVA Anastasia 1993 RUS  0
 35  405138 JELINKOVA Adriana 1995 NED  0
 34  426100 HOLTMANN Mina Fuerst 1995 NOR  0
 32  306249 HASEGAWA Emi 1986 JPN  0
 31  307493 ANDO Asa 1996 JPN  0
 28  56315 TRUPPE Katharina 1996 AUT  0
 2  6535237 SHIFFRIN Mikaela 1995 USA  0

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR