KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — In an impressive display of skill, Olympic champion Sara Hector clinched her second World Cup giant slalom victory of the season on Saturday, following a mishap for Italian skier Federica Brignone during the first heat.
Hector showcased her dominance by finishing 1.42 seconds ahead of 18-year-old Lara Colturi from Albania, propelling her to the top of both the giant slalom (GS) and overall competition standings. Brignone, 34, had her ambitions of increasing her lead in the GS standings thwarted after she fell in her initial run. This marked her first race since achieving the milestone of being the oldest female race winner in World Cup history in Semmering, Austria, the previous weekend.
Earlier this season, Hector claimed victory at the Killington event in November and secured second place in Semmering. With her latest performance, she has amassed 296 points in the GS standings after four races, leading by a significant 96 points over Brignone. Moreover, Hector has taken the lead in the overall leaderboard with a total of 407 points, surpassing Switzerland’s Camille Rast by 24 points. Notably, Hector’s success comes despite battling a persistent seasonal cough.
“It’s really amazing,” Hector remarked. “But I was resting a lot this week, so maybe it helped a little bit. When I’ve been training a lot, resting is a good recipe.”
Colturi made headlines by achieving her second podium finish in the World Cup and secured Albania’s inaugural GS medal. “I felt really confident in myself last week and finally, I’ve made two really good runs,” said Colturi, who finished just ahead of New Zealand’s Alice Robinson.
In the absence of injured star Mikaela Shiffrin, AJ Hurt marked her place as the top American skier in Kranjska Gora, finishing in 10th place, 2.73 seconds behind Hector and ahead of teammate Nina O’Brien.
Additionally, Lindsey Vonn made a notable comeback to World Cup racing in Switzerland on December 21, after almost six years of retirement. Currently, Vonn is only competing in speed events, such as downhill and super-G, and is scheduled to race again next weekend in St. Anton, Austria.
Looking ahead, the women’s slalom event is set to take place on Sunday at Kranjska Gora.
