Featured Image: Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek
The Val-d’Isère weekend commenced with remarkable displays from Swiss athletes Jasmine Flury and Joana Haehlen. Flury triumphantly claimed victory in the downhill World Cup, and Haehlen celebrated 3rd-place. The women’s field displayed impressive speeds on the challenging and dynamic OK World Cup downhill track. Although, the Italian pair, Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone, had claimed podium spots in the St. Moritz downhill last weekend, they finished in 4th and 8th place respectively in today’s race.
Tomorrow, the women switch over to super-G. In the first super-G race of the season, in St. Moritz, Goggia went all out and impressively won by -0.95. After her winning run, she stated, “I am a bit surprised,” but Goggia has continued to show speed and strength in the first two weeks of the World Cup speed events.
2021 was the last time that the women ran super-G in Val-d’Isère and Goggia clinched 1st-place by -0.33. That was her third podium finish on the track and she will be aiming for another victory.
Her teammate, Federica Brignone is on fire as well and has already achieved four podiums this season. In the St. Moritz super-G, she was only (+0.19) off a podium spot. After her strong display of speed and eagerness in the downhill, she will be gunning for the podium tomorrow.
Mikaela Shiffrin will be back on the start list for the super-G tomorrow! Shiffrin raced the Val-d’Isère super-G in 2021 and achieved a 5th-place finish. That was her first and only race that she has competed in on this track. The field has already gotten two training days and one day of racing on the hill, which might put Shiffrin at a slight disadvantage. Nonetheless, she is feeling confident about the race day ahead of her.
Last weekend, Shiffrin reflected that she might have skied the St. Moritz super-G “too aggressively,” so she will bring that focus into the race tomorrow as she strives for a win.
Other athletes who were successful on this super-G hill were Cornelia Huetter of Austria and Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland. Huetter achieved a 3rd-place finish today in the downhill and exuded confidence in her skiing, which she will take into tomorrow’s race. Lara Gut-Behrami has had an excellent start to the season with two World Cup victories, and she achieved third in the St. Moritz super-G. She is a force to reckon with.
Top Five Women 2024 World Cup super-G Standings after St. Moritz
North Americans
The North American performances last weekend in St. Moritz were exceptional, with 4 in the top 30. Mikaela Shiffrin raced into 4th, Valérie Grenier 14th, Keely Cashman 24th, and Lauren Macuga scored her first super-G points, finishing in 30th. Tomorrow, eight North Americans will be competing.
Alpine Canada Alpin athlete Valérie Grenier raced this past week in the St. Moritz super-G European Cup and achieved a 2nd-place result. She has competed in six European Cup races, and this was her first podium finish. The result is a confidence booster going into tomorrow.
Stifel US Ski Team athlete Isabella Wright did not finish the super-G last weekend in St. Moritz, and she had a few mistakes that cost her time in the downhill today. Nevertheless, she knows what she can do and looks forward to attacking the race hill tomorrow.
After Teammate Keely Cashman had a tough time with super-G last year on the World Cup circuit, she was excited to start this season with a scoring finish. She stated after the St. Moritz race, “It felt pretty good. I think I had a really hard time with super-G last year. Didn’t get any points. So this feels like a really good start to the season.” Cashman aims to continue to improve her World Cup ranking tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Independent racer Stefanie Flekenstein of Canada fell in the finish area at the end of her downhill race, so she will not be racing in the super-G.
The speed women are hungry for another World Cup super-G and to complete their weekend on a high note. The final day of racing in Val-d’Isère is at 2:00 am PST, 3:00 MST and 5:00 am EST.
Seven US and one Canadian are on the Super-G start list
- Bib 13, Mikaela Shiffrin, Stifel USST, Burke Mountain Academy, Atomic, Oakley
- Bib 23, Isabella Wright, Stifel USST, Snowbird Sports Education Foundation, Atomic, Level Gloves
- Bib 29, Valérie Grenier, ACA, Club de Ski Mont Tremblant, Rossignol/LOOK, Level Gloves
- Bib 40, Keely Cashman, Stifel USST, Team Palisades Tahoe, HEAD
- Bib 42, Alice Merryweather, Stifel USST, Stratton Mountain School, Attitash Race Team, Rossignol, LOOK
- Bib 47, Tricia Mangan, Stifel USST, HoliMont Snowsports, Dartmouth College, HEAD, Level Gloves
- Bib 49, Jacqueline Wiles, Stifel USST, White Pass Ski Club, Rossignol/LOOK
- Bib 50, Lauren Macuga, Stifel USST, Park City Ski Team, Winter Sports School, Rossignol, LOOK
The US has entered seven competitors and the Canadians have entered one in the December 17th super-G.
About Val-d’Isère, France
Val d’Isere is a stunning mountain town in the heart of the French Alps, one of the most picturesque regions in the world. Val d’Isere is known for its snowfall and offers varied terrain and a vibrant village atmosphere.
Val d’Isere is located close to the Italian border and is a large ski area with an elevation reaching 11,335 feet. The resort has two main villages, La Daille and Le Fornet. La Daille sits at the lower end of the valley and Le Fornet at the other end, and they both have unique access to the resort. The area offers variable architectural styles; if desired visitors can find 17th-century restored farm buildings. Lindsey Vonn, a retired World Cup Champion, stated on Instagram, “I have a lot of great memories there winning my cows!” Fun fact about the Val d’Isere speed event: in 2005, Lindsey once chose a cow over a check for €5,000. Since it was a race in an Olympic year, she named her first cow Olympe.
The downhill begins at 2:00 am PST, 3:00 MST and 5:00 am EST.
In the United States, Ski and Snowboard Live offers live streaming of the event and a full replay, with English announcers.
In Canada, CBC Sports offers live streaming of the event.
Start list and program for the December 17th Val-d’Isère super-G
Fifty-five athletes representing 16 nations are on Sunday’s super-G start list.
Click on images to download
Program for Val-d’Isère super-G December 17th
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
