Sofia Goggia he crosses the finish line and rejoices by dancing the samba with his boots on. His is pure joy for his new superlative undertaking. The indomitable girl from Bergamo won the Beaver Creek super-G in 1.03.90 after being an excellent second in yesterday’s downhill. These are feats bordering on the incredible, miraculous given that they came ten months after the dramatic accident of last February 5th, with a fracture of the tibia and malleolus, which could have cost her her career given that she was unable to ski for a good eight months.
For Sofia, at 32 years old, this is victory n.25 and the seventh in super-G. After Tomba and Brignone she is now alone the third most successful Italian skier ever, surpassing the legendary Gustav Thoeni who won 24. With her on the podium the Swiss Lara Gut – Behrami in 1.04.38 and surprisingly the Austrian Ariane Raedler in 1.04.45. With cloudy skies, a bit of wind and a perfect surface for a quick tracking of the Bird’s of Prey by the Italian coach Giovanni Feltrin, the race also saw other blue jet girls stand out as has been happening for years in fast races in which Italy is the measure of everything. Federica Brignone in fact she came 5th in 1.04.54, Marta Bassino 6/a on 1.04.70. However, both were certainly on the podium until the last intermediate stage where, perhaps by tightening some corners too much, they compromised a result that was absolutely within their reach. Then the blue squadron of jet girls sees in the rankings Elena Curtoni 9/a on 1.05.04, Roberta Melesi 11/a on 1.05.87, Laura Pirovano 18/a in 1.05.50. For Italy there were also moments of fear for the gleaning and the very bad fall of the Gardenese Nadia Delago: her skis did not come off but fortunately the athlete stood up on her own and skied to the finish line.
In France, however, among men the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen in 1.36.40 he returned to success in the Val d’Isere CDM special slalom. For him – at 30 years old – it is success n.31. Behind him his compatriot – still with a Scandinavian festival – Atle McGrath in 1.36.92 and the Swiss Loic Meillard on 1.37.29. French is absent Clement Noel Kristoffersen he also moves to the top of the discipline ranking with 220 points against the 200 of the Frenchman. For Italy, in a discipline in which the Azzurri are still struggling to perform properly in both heats, there is still a good seventh place for the Aloatesian Tobias Kastlunger at 1.37.53. Tobias, significantly behind in the first heat, recovered 22 positions in the second thanks to the slippages of his rivals and a progressively more and more ruined track which, starting among the very first, he was lucky enough to find perfect. In the end, however, there are only three Italians in the standings. The other two, the Gardena area Alex Vinatzer10th in 1.37.67, recovering seven positions compared to the initial heat, and the veteran from Trentino Stefano Gross17th in 1.38.47 with 8 positions recovered.
The men’s world cup is next in Val Gardena for a return of the sprinters: super-G on Friday and descent on the prestigious Saslong on Saturday. The Azzurri jets arrive there confident because last year the n.1 Dominik Paris won the free run, breaking a negative tradition for South Tyrolean athletes right on their home track. The women’s world cup – the one that has given Italy the greatest satisfaction for years now – now returns to Europe with destination St. Moritz, Switzerland: two super-Gs next Saturday and Sunday – the second and third of the nine scheduled in this season – with a sensational return to competition, at 40 years old and almost six years after retirement, of the great American champion Lindsey Vonn, great friend and former rival of Sofia Goggia. Emotions and entertainment are guaranteed, also because in St. Moritz the blue jet girls have always achieved great results.