Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami propelled to victory in the women’s giant slalom World Cup season-opening race in Killington, Vermont on Saturday.
The reigning giant slalom world champion, Gut-Behrami, beat the Italian Marta Bassino by seven cents, author of an excellent aggressive second run.
31-year-old Gut-Behrami has shown that she is ready to continue her career-ending streak after winning Olympic gold in super-G and bronze in giant slalom in Beijing and a pair of golds at the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo lo last year.
The win was Gut-Behrami’s 35th World Cup victory and his 66th career podium finish at the circuit.
Swedish Olympic champion Sara Hector, who had been leading after the first run, finished in third place, 0.20 seconds off her winning time.
Mikaela Shiffrin, incited by the American public, obtained a disappointing result on her home snow, finishing in 13th place, 1.40 from Gut-Behrami.
Six-time world champion technical specialist Shiffrin opened the season with back-to-back slalom victories in Levi, Finland and will be aiming for another slalom victory on Sunday in Killington.
“We will watch the video and see what to improve for the next races,” said Shiffrin who explained that his timing has been the main weakness of his run.
“But for now we will concentrate on the gear change for the slalom. I have prepared a lot more for the slalom so I am looking forward to it.
Defending Giant Slalom World Cup champion Tessa Worley of France finished seventh, 0.84 seconds behind Gut-Behrami.
Leave a Comment