A leading contender in giant slalom at the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is Austrian skier Julia Scheib. After recovering from a nine-month injury hiatus, defending overall World Cup champion Federica Brignone is back in action. American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is steadily improving in giant slalom races.
Scheib secured her fourth giant slalom win of the season by clocking a time of 2 minutes 19.85 seconds, surpassing Camille Rast by 0.37 seconds and Sara Hector by 0.46 seconds at the Kronplatz resort. Shiffrin finished fourth with a time of 2:20.71, while Brignone took the sixth spot with a time of 2:21.08.
Reflecting on her performance, Brignone expressed relief and pride after a challenging nine months of recovery. Canadian skiers Val Grenier and Britt Richardson finished ninth and eleventh, respectively, in the competition.
Julia Scheib, aged 27, who had not previously won a World Cup race, now leads the giant slalom standings with a significant 139-point lead over Rast. On the other hand, Shiffrin, the record holder of 107 World Cup victories, has not reached the giant slalom podium in two years.
For Brignone, the Kronplatz race marked her return to competition after a leg injury, requiring extensive rehabilitation. She expressed initial nervousness but regained composure during the race.
Brignone will skip the upcoming technical races in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, to focus on speed training in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Her aim is to build confidence for the Olympics where she hopes to compete for Italy. Italian skier Sofia Goggia faced a setback in the competition, failing to finish her first run.