Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami on Saturday made it two-for-two in FIS Alpine Ski World Cup giant slaloms (GS) this season as she powered to victory on the second leg in Killington, Vermont.
Gut-Behrami followed up her season-opening win in Soelden, Austria, last month, beating New Zealand’s Alice Robinson by 62-hundredths of a second with US star Mikaela Shiffrin third for a women’s record-extending 140th World Cup podium.
“I’m just feeling confident now with my GS skiing so everything feels easier,” said Gut-Behrami, who became the first Swiss woman to win back-to-back World Cup giant slaloms since Sonja Nef in 2001.
Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY
“I’m enjoying what I’m doing so that helps,” she added.
Skiing in the windiest conditions faced by the top starters on the first leg, Gut-Behrami posted the third-fastest time.
An imperious second run saw her seize the lead from Shiffrin. She then watched as Sara Hector of Sweden and Robinson failed to get past her.
“It’s the first time actually that I’m racing with the red [leader’s] bib in GS and I keep it, so that’s a nice feeling too,” said Gut-Behrami, the 2021 giant slalom world champion who also won the giant slalom at Killington last year.
Gut-Behrami, 32, has enjoyed remarkable longevity since her World Cup debut nearly 16 years ago, and since her first victory in December 2008.
On Saturday, she notched the 39th World Cup victory of her career — seventh on the all-time list.
Also a specialist in super-G, where she is Olympic champion, and downhill, Gut-Behrami could be a rival for Shiffrin in the overall World Cup standings, which she won in 2016.
However, Shiffrin, who posted a record-extending 89th career world Cup victory in a slalom in Levi, Finland, two weeks ago — already leads the overall standings after four races, with 250 points to the Swiss racer’s 200.
Robinson captured her first podium finish since March of 2021 after two tough seasons that followed her breakout victory at the age of 17 in Soelden in 2019.
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