Goggia Takes Super G Win With A Little Help From Vonn

The top group of super-G skiers put down high-speed runs with each skier outdoing the other. Ultimately, Italian skier Sofia Goggia claimed the victory, knifing her run to take the win by almost a half-second. Goggia celebrated in style with a short samba dance, reminiscent of the same dance performed by Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen the week before. Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami claimed second place with Austrian Ariane Raedler in the third spot. 

At the top of the Birds of Prey on Sunday, while her rivals watched the early racers on TV monitors to get a feel for the Super G course, Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic) waited for a phone call from an unlikely forerunner at the bottom of the mountain instead.

After receiving advice from that practice racer — who happened to be 82-time World Cup winner Lindsey Vonn (USA/Head) — the Italian star dominated the first Super G of the season to claim victory and complete her latest comeback from injury.

On a fast Super G course set by Italian coach Giovanni Feltrin, Goggia used her Downhill skills to full effect to finish in 1 minute, 3.90 seconds, nearly half a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Her masterful run came after seeing her good friend Vonn in the warm-up area, when Goggia asked the American to call her once she had completed her forerunner duties as part of her comeback to the World Cup.

"All the other girls were watching the TV and I was on the phone with Lindsey and she was explaining (the course to) me, and I said, 'Thanks,'" Goggia explained. "I really have to say thanks to her because I really trust her. What she says is the Bible."

Goggia's faultless run bumped provisional leader and pre-race favourite Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI/Head, +0.48s) into runner-up position, while Ariane Raedler (AUT/Head, +0.55s) finished a surprising third from bib No.20.

"I really felt that the Super G could be mine today," Goggia said. "I skied without really thinking about anything. I knew the gates, I knew my strategy, and I just went down. I love to race in America. The Birds of Prey is a legendary slope."

After narrowly missing victory in Saturday's Downhill in her first race since January after recovering from a tibia injury, Goggia felt more confident the second time out.

"I'm really grateful I can still express myself on skis," the Atomic racer said If I said yesterday I was skiing 80 percent of my potential, today I think I was pushing from the start to the bottom."

And while it was Vonn's tips that inspired Goggia to victory, she copied another comeback skier, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (BRA), by performing a samba jig in the finish area to celebrate her 25th World Cup win, denying Gut-Behrami what would have been her 46th triumph.

big favorites with bib No. 9, the Swiss star had a hesitant start but settled midway down the piste and then took the lead with a brilliant final section.

"From the middle I could change and definitely it was a better run on the bottom than on the top," Gut-Behrami said.

The defending Super G and Overall champion then watched as Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol), Conny Hütter (AUT/Head) and Marta Bassino (ITA/Salomon) all led her at the penultimate split before faltering in the bottom section and failing to dislodge her.

With bib No.13, Goggia built a lead of over half a second at the third of four splits and although she was slightly slower than her Swiss rival in the final section, she had more than enough in hand to easily take the lead.

Gut-Behrami held onto second for her 92nd World Cup podium, while it was only the second career top-three finish for Raedler, and first since January 2022 in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, also in Super G.

"Finally I'm back on the podium," said Raedler, who was only 23rd in Saturday's Downhill. "Yesterday I was a little disappointed, and today I have more fun, more self-confidence and I'm so happy about this third place."

With the first Super G race of the women's season in the books, the next two will come in quick succession next weekend in St. Moritz, with a familiar name back on the start list.

Nearly six years after her last World Cup race in January 2019, Vonn, the all-time women's leader in World Cup Downhill and Super G wins, will make her return to the top flight at a resort where she has won five times.

And while Goggia is now a rival again, the Italian will not hesitate to repay Sunday's favor to Vonn should the opportunity arise.

"We are really good friends — you have to give back what the other gave you," Goggia said.

For the other Americans 

Lauren Macuga again led the way with a top 15, finishing in 12th in the super-G. Teammates Keely Cashman and Breezy Johnson also scored 21st and 28th.

“It was really good skiing, but I kept getting late so I was not sure how fast it would be when I came down, so I was excited to see that it was a pretty decent run,” said Macuga.

The weather finally changed from the non-stop Colorado sunshine to overcast skies, wind and some light snowfall. Regardless, the best women speed skiers in the world were ready to bring it for the super-G. Macuga ran first for the U.S. squad in bib three. Coming off her career-best result in Saturday's downhill, she sent it down the course. Despite getting low and late in a few spots, she took the lead and sat smiling in the leaderboard chair for about five racers.

“It’s nice because I know I had good skiing. I just wasn't on the line so I know if I had executed better I would have been right in there,” said Macuga. “I knew it was not a podium-contending run but I know what I have to do to get there.”

The next group of U.S. racers ran after bib 35. Each skier did their best to fight the wind and changing weather conditions to claim some World Cup points. Cashman was one skier who broke through the tough conditions with a stellar run moving from bib 44 to 21st. The fans were brought to their feet as Cashman not only started her season with a bang, but also took home a pretty penny, winning the $5,000 Stifel Bibbo Award.

“I got pretty lucky with the light. The sun was coming in and out for me and standing in the start for a little while sort of helped me calm down and gave me time to gather my thoughts,” said Cashman. “Some sections felt good and others did not feel great, but super-G can be tricky sometimes where you need to be right on the edge to be super fast.”

Johnson also had a solid performance on Sunday, claiming 28th place. It was her first race back on the circuit in a year, and she was pleased to start off with two World Cup points-scoring results in Beaver Creek. Tricia Mangan, Jackie Wiles, Bella Wright and independent athlete Haley Cutler also raced, placing 37th, 38th, 40th and 42nd, respectively.