Goggia Continues Speed Dominance In Val d'Isere Super G, Kristoffersen Edges Out Odermatt For First Win Of Season.

Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway won his first World Cup of the season with a near-perfect second run to elevate himself from seventh place to the victory. Marco Odermatt of Switzerland was second and Manuel Feller of Austria third. 2021 giant slalom World Champion Mathieu Faivre led the race after the first run, but had a slow second run and finished 16th.Having failed to secure a podium last weekend in Val d’Isère and without a win since January, when he triumphed in Chamonix, Kristoffersen was hoping to kickstart his season at a resort where he has previously tasted success.

In 2019, Kristoffersen became the first Norwegian man to win the Alta Badia giant slalom, but he faced stiff competition from Swiss ace Marco Odermatt. The 24yearold was looking to become just the fifth man to win the first three giant slalom events of a World Cup season after victories in Solden and Val d'Isère.

Kristoffersen’s task looked even greater after the first round as he finished seventh, 0.57 seconds behind the leader Mathieu Faivre. However, the 27yearold produced a flawless second run to lay down an impressive marker of 2:25.04.

Several challengers failed to overcome Kristoffersen’s time and with just Odermatt and Faivre to come, the Norwegian was guaranteed at least a podium finish.

Odermatt pushed hard during his run but eventually had to settle for second, while France’s Faivre had a disastrous second run and had to settle for 16th place, with third place going to Austria’s Manuel Feller.

Kristoffersen said: “Giant slalom has been a struggle this last year. I knew this season was going to be better. Val d’Isère was a step in the right direction. I made some changes to the skis two days ago and the second run was amazing."

Surrounded by breathtaking Dolomite mountains in Italy, River Radamus tied his best ever FIS World Cup result in Alta Badia, taking sixth place in the giant slalom—proving that he is in the medal hunt in a critical Olympic season.

Radamus had a strong first run, crashing into the finish to take an impressive fourth place—his best ever result in a first run. He took a little off second run, but still skied well to end up in sixth. The result tied his personal best finish earlier in the season when he was sixth in Soelden.

“Getting sixth here is huge for me,” said Radamus. “It’s a step in the right direction. Obviously after first run I would have liked more, but I’m happy to make that second run and do it decently. I take the points, take the result and I keep moving forward.”

He reflected on his second run start, in which he was sandwiched between ski racing legends like Manuel Feller and Alexis Pinturault. “That was definitely my first run amidst the scene—starting between idols of mine and titans of the sport,” said Radamus. “I don’t think it got to me too much, but it’s definitely a cool feeling. I want to get back there more often and be able to compete with those guys because I feel that I can.”

Radamus also took time to pay homage to the track that he has long dubbed his favorite on the circuit. The Gran Risa has always been the darling of the giant slalom greats—including Marcel Hirscher, Bode Miller, Alberto Tomba, and Radamus’ hero Ted Ligety. “Everyone will tell you this is the best GS hill,” said Radamus. “I treat it almost as a religious experience coming here—you have to pay tribute to the hill. I always want to come here and really execute and have a good run and really do it justice.”

Sofia Goggia dominated the Val D'Isere super G, taking her second win of the weekend and her fifth win of the season. Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway was second, breaking up what looked to be a potential Italian sweep (Federica Brignone ended up in fourth ahead of Shiffrin) and Elena Curtoni of Italy third.

Goggia continues to ski a head above the rest in speed, winning her fifth World Cup this season, garnering comparisons to Lindsey Vonn’s historic dominance in speed. It was her first super-G win since Lake Louise, having grabbed second place and sixth place, respectively, in the wind-riddled St. Moritz. Her win also gives her a 65-point lead over Shiffrin in the overall standings.

"I think that's it's two totally different challenges," she said to the official broadcast. "Because in downhill, you have to confirm every time that you are there. In Super G, I really do feel like I am not the strongest and I have really to create a lovely race every time... It's that Super G [is] always tricky. You never know the speed, the lines, the tactic.

"But, today, I woke up and I felt really, really confident already. And I just skied smooth. And I think this is the best Super G I ever did in my career.... This is the smoothest skiing that I had since ever. So, I have supercharged this technique."

Mikaela Shiffrin showed off her speed skiing prowess again, scoring fifth place in the FIS World Cup super-G in Val d’Isere, France. Breezy Johnson also finished in the top 10, taking ninth place—a career-best super-G finish for the speed skier.

Shiffrin was heading for a week of training after racing the speed events in St. Moritz last week, but made a last-minute decision to race the super-G in Val d’Isere—a venue she had never before raced. The decision paid off, scoring key points toward the overall hunt for the World Cup title and securing another World Cup super-G finish before the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Though she is still considered a tech event specialist, Shiffrin has now been in the top 10 in every super-G she has entered in the 2021-22 season.   

“I enjoyed the experience coming to a new place—having to study the course and learn the hill,” said Shiffrin. “Super-G is difficult to execute a plan in the one run, but I felt like that was all really good today. We’ll go back and look at the video and see where I can gain time, but I felt really good on my skis—good skiing.”

After taking yet another downhill podium in Saturday’s race, Johnson came in with confidence to Sunday’s race on the same track. She has been steadily improving in the discipline, scoring a 12th and 24th in the St. Moritz super-Gs, and skied the Val d’Isere hill tactfully to score her best-ever World Cup super-G finish. She finished ninth, besting her previous personal best of 10th in Val di Fassa, Italy last February.

Rounding out the Americans, Tricia Mangan was 40th, Jackie Wiles 43rd, and Keely Cashman 44th.