As the fastest in the final training session, Sofia Goggia confirmed her role as favorite for today’s women’s World Cup downhill run (10.45 a.m., ORF 1) in Zauchensee. The Italian won the seven most recent descents she competed in. From their point of view, it can continue in this key. The fact that, for the first time since 2014, the super-steep Gamskogel is the go-to for Goggia. There, the ladies accelerate to 115 km/h within four seconds. “It’s a real kick-ass start. Super! 80 km/h like in Val d’Isere is far too slow for the women,” said the 29-year-old.
Austria is good soil for the speed queen anyway. Goggia has triumphed in Bad Kleinkirchheim and St. Anton in the past.
The red-white-red hopes for a top result are carried by Christine Scheyer, who was fifth in the second training session and won in Zauchensee in 2017, and Mirjam Puchner, who was seventh yesterday.
With three podium places this winter, the woman from Salzburg is the most reliable ÖSV speed racer, but she hasn’t found the ideal line yet. “The main thing that makes me think is that I’m losing so much upstairs,” said Puchner, who takes off her hat to Goggia. “She’s been showing the way for a long time. But everyone else is willing to bend her at some point. It’s possible.”
In addition to Nicole Schmidhofer (“I still have the Super-G on the plan”), the Americans Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin are also missing today. Johnson, who finished second behind Goggia in each of the three downhill runs so far this season, will not be competing after suffering a knee injury in training. And while Petra Vlhova starts her speed adjustment phase after winning the slalom World Cup ball in Zauchensee because of the Olympics, Shiffrin goes the opposite way. After her world record victory in the Schladming slalom, she will apparently not be driving any more speed races until Beijing. So not the Super-G scheduled for Sunday (11.30 a.m., ORF 1).
Source: Nachrichten
