Mikaela Shiffrin wins the super-G in St. Moritz, second Elena Curtoni- Corriere.it

Thirteen cents. They are trivial, but in the super-G of St. Moritz are enough for Mikaela Shiffrin to deny a Elena Curtoni the second success – after the victory in the downhill on Friday 16 December – in the three days in the Engadine. And Sofia Goggia after the sensational feat of triumph in the free-2, just a few hours after the operation on her left hand, is just missing the podium: but we will see why her fifth place is an excellent result. This time, however, he commanded Her Majesty Mikaelawho achieved the seventy-seventh first place in the World Cup, the third in the year: the holder of the absolute trophy, as well as leader of the general classification, -5 from the record of Lindsey Vonn, destined to lose the primacy perhaps already within this season every era among women (82 victories for the compatriot).

After that the girl from Vail – who at just 27 has a record palmars – will be able to attack Ingemar Stenmark and the absolute limit of 86 successes. Shiffrin after November’s brace in Levi’s slaloms had never won again (strangely, there having been other appointments both in the rapid gates and in the giant slalom). But in the four previous first places in super-G she also had one in St.Moritz (2018), a sign that on the Corviglia slope she was anything but an outsider. The American has brushed a perfect test, mixing fluidity and aggressiveness. The fifth symphony in super-G comes almost two years after the last center, on January 26, 2020 in Bansko, Bulgaria. That was an unforgettable race for Mikaela also due to the tragic event that followed it a few days later, namely the death of her father Jeff due to a domestic accident: having won again in super-G will probably have given the Yankee champion a particular emotion . Elena Curtoni came within a whisker (12 cents) of overtaking her. When the Valtellinese descended, Mikaela had just dethroned the Swiss Michelle Gisin, companion of the blue gigantist Luca de Aliprandini. Elena was able, like on Friday in the downhill, to put on the plate a good comeback with which she gnawed the hundredths of disadvantage: a handful remained, perhaps to be linked to the imbalance on the jump that she led to the finish line.

Elena, on the tenth podium (with three victories) was happy: It was one of my best weekends, if not the best. Now I know what I’m worth and I will try to get better and better. Meanwhile, thanks to Corinne Suter’s flop, she enjoys the primacy in the discipline: 120 points against the 100 of the Swiss. In speed, the queens for now are blue: Sofia Goggia downhill, Elena Curtoni in super-G. For Italy, on the day when Federica Brignone was only eleventh with non-optimal physical conditions, the great regret comes from Marta Bassino. The winner of the last giant, on the snow of Sestriere, was in the queues of Shiffrin: in the second intermediate time she had in fact brought herself within a cent of the American, but immediately afterwards she was deceived by a blind passage, managing to pass a goal in extremis but found herself long and skipped the next one. I’m really pissed off, I’m pissed off – these are Marta’s words -. But I have to force myself to see the positive aspects and then I’m satisfied with my skiing. Other opportunities will come, but the doors will have to pass them and not skip them…. And here we are at Sofia Goggia, who on Twitter wanted to celebrate the feat of Saturday the 17th by posting a photo of her on the podium while unfurling the tricolor and adding this comment: Green like the light I want to see when I cross the finish line; white as the perennial snows on which our curves draw; red like the blood I shed. The fifth place in super-G – two tenths from the third of the French Miradoli and 6 from Shiffrin, placement that leaves her in second place in the general classification 105 points from the American – another feat: in this discipline, in fact, the use of arms and sticks more important than going downhill. Logical that the operated hand and still very sore created more problems than the situation tackled free. And during the night I didn’t sleep much – remembers the blue -: I felt the area where the operation was throbbing. In the morning I was uncertain whether to compete or not, then I decided to leave, even though I didn’t feel very lucid. Sofia has however carefully dosed the shrewdness and the desire to try herself even in this condition. Moral? I had a smart race.