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79th World Cup victory! Mikaela Shiffrin is unbeatable again. This time she makes the difference after the start.
Mathias Germannreporter sports
If you are looking for snow around the Hirschenkogel above Semmering (Austria), you have to look closely. “If things continue like this, we won’t have any more races here in ten years,” predicts a folder. Lara Gut-Behrami (31) doesn’t care at this moment, when she leaves the start house at 1335 meters above sea level. Her goal is victory – and as a half-time leader, she has a good chance of it. “I would bet on her,” says Mikaela Shiffrin (27), who was second after the first run.
Ultimately, things turned out differently, the US star turned the tables and won – just like the day before and for the 79th time in the World Cup. Shiffrin is only six wins away from Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record (85 wins). The ski legend from Sweden even said a year ago: “Mikaela will win over 100 races.”
Back to Gut-Behrami. What she shows in poor visibility and rough slopes on the magic mountain is strong. Or as women’s head coach Beat Tschuor puts it: “Sensational.” After the race, the Ticino native doesn’t feel like celebrating. Firstly because she is tired after two demanding giant slaloms. Second, she explains: “The feeling on the track was miserable – it was pounding, the snow was difficult and visibility was flat. It was a fight.”
“She does it like the men”
Gut-Behrami awarded the victory in the first 13 seconds of driving. Combining both runs, she lost 73 hundredths to Shiffrin on the flat starting slope. Because all the other drivers also lose crucial terrain there, guesswork prevails in the finish area. Does Aleksander Kilde’s girlfriend (30, No) have a new silver bullet? After all, Atomic last built skis during training before Christmas on the Reiteralm (Austria), which fit exactly to the current conditions. Austria’s Katharina Truppe (26) even spoke of a “machine” at Shiffrin’s feet. “I have no idea, we have to analyze that,” says Gut-Behrami’s father and trainer Pauli Gut.
It is more likely that Shiffrin will simply accelerate out of the starting house faster than her opponents. Italy’s Federica Brignone (32) analyses: “She pushes much better than we do, her step shoe slides are also strong. I’m usually good at it too, but Mikaela is amazing – she does it like the men do.” Shiffrin himself admits that he is currently “pretty fast” at the start.
In addition to Gut-Behrami, six other Swiss women scored points. The new Salomon drivers Michelle Gisin (26th) and Camille Rast (27th) remain well below their potential, which clouds the Swiss balance sheet.
Attention ski fans! Now quiz and type races
The 2022/2023 ski season is coming up and with it the “Blick Ski Trophy”: answer questions every day, type ski races and crown yourself as ski champion. Lots of great prizes await.
To take part in the “Blick Ski Trophy”, you have to register here.
Have fun and good luck!
The 2022/2023 ski season is coming up and with it the “Blick Ski Trophy”: answer questions every day, type ski races and crown yourself as ski champion. Lots of great prizes await.
To take part in the “Blick Ski Trophy”, you have to register here.
Have fun and good luck!