ARE, Sweden (AP) — Federica Brignone is still a relentless winner in giant slalom races and Mikaela Shiffrin is still searching for form after her serious crash in November.
Brignone was fastest in both runs of a World Cup giant slalom Saturday to score a dominating victory and take another big step toward a second career overall title.
Shiffrin failed to finish in the first run, going out when she skied wide after approaching a right-hand turn too fast.
Brignone raced last in the afternoon as the first-run leader and extended her margin to 1.36 seconds over Alice Robinson. Lara Colturi was third, trailing Brignone by 1.43.
Despite holding a huge lead, the Italian star pushed for more speed and almost crashed within sight of the finish when she was launched up with both skis off the snow.
“It was a bit slippery. Then I had that mistake and I said, ‘Oh no, this is over,’” she said.
Brignone has won every giant slalom race she has completed this season, including a world championships gold medal last month. She failed to finish in three World Cup races.
Robinson's consistent results means she still leads Brignone in the giant slalom standings by 20 points with one race left on March 25 at Sun Valley, Idaho.
“It’s an amazing fight," Brignone said of her rival from New Zealand. "She has been on the podium every race and she’s an amazing skier.”
Brignone is racing toward a second overall World Cup title at age 34.
With 100 points earned for Saturday's win, she leads by 322 over Lara Gut-Behrami, the defending champion, who placed ninth.
Brignone's 36th career World Cup race win also was her 21st since turning 30, a record in the women's World Cup. Downhill great Lindsey Vonn has 15 wins since her 30th birthday and Gut-Behrami has 12.
Sofia Goggia has four wins in her 30s and still no podium result in giant slalom for seven years. Starting the second run in second place, Goggia was on track to set the fastest time when she came to a stop after taking too much speed through a turn.
Shiffrin has now started three giant slaloms since suffering a deep puncture wound in her stomach during a GS crash in Killington, Vermont more than three months ago. Her results have been a 25th place, failing to qualify for a second run and now a “did not finish.”
The United States star has returned to top form in slalom, which is raced Sunday. She got her record-extending 100th career World Cup win in a slalom two weeks ago.
Brignone and Gut-Behrami both skip racing in slalom.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
The Associated Press
