GUT 5 POINTS BEHIND SHIFFRIN AFTER WIN

val d’isere, france» Lara Gut bounced back in style from two miserable performances to win a World Cup super-G race Sunday for her third victory of the season and 21st career win.

The defending World Cup overall champion failed to finish Friday’s alpine combined race and Saturday’s downhill, dropping valuable points in her quest to close the gap on EagleVail’s Mikaela Shiffrin, the current World Cup leader.

“Today I loved the fact I could ski the way I wanted. That’s what I’m taking from the weekend; I found myself again,” Gut said.

Gut is five points behind Shiffrin heading into Tuesday’s GS in the nearby alpine resort of Courchevel, France. Shiffrin skipped the three speed events in Val d’Isere, but she will return for Courchevel action.

Hirscher ties Tomba’s record

B la villa, italy» Marcel Hirscher matched Alberto Tomba with a record fourth giant-slalom victory in Alta Badia on Sunday. The overall World Cup leader from Austria increased his first-leg lead and finished 0.71 seconds ahead of Mathieu Faivre of France.

Back pain hampering Ligety

B la villa, italy» His back ravaged by a shooting pain that stretches all the way down his leg, Olympic giant slalom champion Ted Ligety can hardly ski at all these days.

No wonder he lost control and slid out several gates into his opening run Sunday. “I’ve been getting injections and trying to get it sorted out, but it hasn’t really turned the corner yet,” Ligety said.