Weirather Reclaims Super-G Lead Ahead Of World Cup Finals

Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein will head into World Cup Finals with a 46-point lead in the super-G standings following her victory in Saturday's race at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. The 2017 super-G globe winner was able to overtake Lara Gut of Switzerland (seventh on the day) with solid skiing and a precise line, particularly in the bottom section of the course where an off-camber jump proved problematic for many competitors.  

Anna Veith of Austria was one athlete who had trouble with the jump, but she pulled off a miraculous recovery through the final gates on course to ski handily into second. She remarked after the race that any podium finish for her is a special result ever since her return from injury that could have ended her athletic career.

Wendy Holdener of Switzerland produced the surprise of the day as the technical skier with bib 31 shook up the predicted podium to finish third. Her teammate Michelle Gisin had previously tied Italian Federica Brignone for the honor, but Holdener bumped the pair to fourth with her clean, attacking run much to the delight of the crowd. It was Holdener's career-first podium in a speed discipline. 

Christine Scheyer of Austria also had an impressive performance, skiing from bib 28 into sixth position for the best super-G result of her career. Verena Stuffer of Italy, the 33-year-old speed specialist, skied her retirement run to cap off her 15 year World Cup career including 148 starts, three World Championships appearances (2009, 2011, 2017), and two Olympic Winter Games starts.

The race utilized a lowered start due to unfavorable course conditions on the upper part of the slope. Race organizers hope to use the longer super-G track in Sunday's alpine combined if at all possible. 

Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) was the only member of the U.S. Ski Team to finish in the points in Saturday’s World Cup super-G, finishing 23rd in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) finished 34th, Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore) was 45th and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) was 50th. Both Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) and Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) are sitting out this weekend’s events.