Shiffrin eyes becoming Gut’s big rival for overall ski title

SOELDEN, AUSTRIA >> When Lara Gut starts the defense of her overall Alpine World Cup title on Saturday, she will be the first Swiss skier to do so in more than two decades. Not that it puts pressure on her. “I don’t think I have to defend something,” Gut said on Thursday, two days before the season-opening giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier.

“The title that I won, is last year. Now we all start at zero points again and it’s just a matter of winning races again.”

The previous skier from Switzerland to take the biggest prize in women’s skiing was Vreni Schneider in 1995, successfully defending her title from the previous season.

Gut downplayed the first race.

“My goal is to improve every day, I have to try to be as relaxed as possible,” Gut said. “There is always a lot of talk ahead of Soelden but this race is also worth just 100 points.”

She will be the only racer on Saturday who has won an overall title. the importance of