Goggia leads Italian sweep at World Cup downhill
BAD KLEINKIRCHHEIM, AUSTRIA » Sofia Goggia used what she called her best ever downhill run to lead an Italian sweep of the podium at a women’s World Cup race on Sunday.
Racing from a lowered start due to fog in the upper part of the hill, Goggia sped down the bumpy Karnten-Franz Klammer course in gutsy style, beating the field by more than a second. “I have never skied so strong and consistent in my whole life in a downhill,” said the Italian after landing her third career victory. Last year, Goggia won both test events on the hill for the Pyeongchang Olympics.
“The snow I found here was exactly the same as in South Korea,” said Goggia, who timed 1 minute, 4.00 seconds to beat Federica Brignone by 1.10 and Nadia Fanchini by 1.35.
“I am super happy for the podium because it’s kind of an Italian party,” she said, adding that her thoughts were with teammate Elena Fanchini. Nadia’s older sister had to end her season to get treatment for a tumor.
“The victory is for me, for Elena, for Italy. We always have Elena in our thoughts,” Goggia said.
Tiffany Gauthier of France missed the podium by 0.14 to finish fourth for a second straight day, matching her career best result.
Avoiding the risk of getting injured a month before the Olympics, American standout Lindsey Vonn held back throughout in a cautious run and was more than three seconds off the lead in 27th.
Due to poor snow conditions, the mandatory training run before a downhill was canceled in the last few days and was held on Sunday morning, two hours before the race.
It was the first time in the 51-year-history of the World Cup that the Italian team took the top three spots in a women’s downhill.
The result came one day after Brignone won a superG on the same hill. She also won a giant slalom in Lienz two weeks ago.
“I love Austrian slopes. Most of the time there are difficult conditions. I like it when it’s icy and bumpy,” said Brignone, who briefly considered skipping the season because of a persistent groin problem.