Curtoni Wins St. Moritz downhill
All smiles for Italy's Elena Curtoni after she won Friday's downhill in St. Moritz. Italian veteran Elena Curtoni made the most of difficult conditions in St. Moritz on Friday, recording her third World Cup victory in a foggy, snowy and shortened downhill race.
The 31-year-old Curtoni took advantage of being the second skier down the mountain, posting an error-free run that none of her rivals could touch as conditions worsened throughout the race. Curtoni's teammate Sofia Goggia came second (+0.29s) despite injuring her hand during her run, while Olympic downhill champion Corrine Suter of Switzerland was third (+0.73s).
It was Curtoni's second World Cup downhill win after her triumph in Bankso, Bulgaria, in January 2020. She also won a World Cup super-G on home snow in Cortina d'Ampezzo last January.
"I'm really happy," Curtoni said in the finish area.
"With flat light it's tough and you need to be brave. I think I was able to put all my braveness on the slope today and it went well."
Following up to 20cm of overnight snow in St. Moritz, the start gate was lowered to the super-G start, removing nine gates from the downhill course. Snow continued to fall throughout the race, while fog drifted in and out of the Corviglia course as the racers took their turns.
Curtoni set the early mark and watched on as several skiers shortly after her, including Michelle Gisin (SUI), Romane Miradoli (FRA, DNF) and Breezy Johnson (USA), made mistakes on a sharp left turn near the top of the course that put paid to their chances. Suter and Goggia, the last two Olympic downhill gold medallists, used their considerable skill and experience to successfully navigate the tricky turn and find their way onto the podium, but they didn't seriously challenge Curtoni's time.
Goggia hit the third control gate with her left hand but she still managed to record the fastest speed of the race at 99.45km/h and add second place to her twin victories in the Canadian resort of Lake Louise earlier this month. Post-race scans revealed she suffered a fracture of the second and third metacarpals in her hand and she was to undergo immediate surgery in Milan in order to try to start Saturday's downhill race.
Suter was unable to win her first World Cup race on home snow in Switzerland, but she still recorded her third downhill podium in as many attempts this season after finishing second and third behind Goggia in Lake Louise.
"I didn't feel very, very comfortable so I tried to find the risk today," the Swiss star said.
"You can't see the bumps and it's not so easy but I tried my best and when it stays like this (third place), I'm super happy."
Suter's teammate Jasmine Flury came fourth as the first skier down the mountain, missing the podium by 11 hundredths of a second.
"At the beginning I thought it was not so good to have No. 1, but I think today I was really lucky," Flury said.
Racing continues throughout the weekend in St. Moritz with another downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday, as Curtoni looks to build on Friday's victory in better conditions.
It was a great day for the U.S. Alpine Team women’s speed team in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Breezy Johnson scored a fifth place finish and Mikaela Shiffrin was right behind her in sixth place. Tricia Mangan also nabbed a career-best 17th place result, and Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete Lauren Macuga grabbed her first World Cup points in 30th.
Johnson has been battling back from a knee injury last winter, and the seven-time podium finisher has been looking to find her way back to the top three. The result in St. Moritz felt like a good start. “I just tried to ski with passion and commitment," said Johnson. "It worked out so I am really happy with the result and will try to keep building on this."
The top three finishers for the downhill included Italian skier Elena Curtoni in first, Sofia Goggia of Italy in second and Swiss skier Corinne Suter in third. Mangan's 17th place finish was her best finish since 2018 and her second time scoring World Cup points. Macuga nailed her first points in 30th.
Keely Cashman and Bella Wright also raced in the downhill. Cashman landed in 38th place and Wright did not finish. The conditions were noticeably difficult on the St. Moritz track. Many athletes noted that it took real determination to make it down fast.
“It was definitely a challenging day with the snowfall and the flat light,” said Wright. “It was dark and bumpy out there you couldn’t see a lot,” agreed Johnson.
On the men’s circuit, the super-G in Val Gardena was canceled Friday due to poor weather conditions and fog. They will continue the speed series with a downhill on Saturday.
