Italy’s Sofia Goggia got a little measure of revenge Sunday, storming to the top of the podium for her first victory of the season at the Stifel Birds of Prey women’s World Cup super-G. Goggia beat out longtime rival Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland with a time of 1:03.90. Gut-Behrami was .48 seconds back, and Austian Ariane Raedler was third, .55 seconds behind Goggia.
Lauren Macuga, 22, was again the top American, finishing in 12th place. Starting with bib 3, she held the lead for a few minutes until one of Goggia’s teammates, Elena Curtoni, who started at number 6, eclipsed her time. Macuga received course reports from forerunner Lindsey Vonn, but knew she made a couple of mistakes that carried her lower on the line than she needed to be.
“It was still a pretty decent run, even though I got those few turns pretty late,” said Macuga. “It was nice because I know I had good skiing. I wasn’t on the line, but I know if I had been on it, I might have been in there (fighting for a podium spot) a little more.”
Vonn, 40, completed a week of forerunning and training in advance of her return to World Cup competition next weekend in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and gave course reports to her American teammates as well as some words of advice to Goggia, who has been a longtime friend of Vonn’s on the tour. “She was really kind to me. She gave me a little bit of advice, and she was right,” said Goggia, 32.
“(Vonn) has so much knowledge on everything and just being able to talk to her and ask her all that is really helpful,” said Macuga, who was fourth in Saturday’s downhill, missing the podium by .52 seconds. “It’s nice to hear what she has to say.”
“I got my report to (Macuga), and she skied it really well” said Vonn. “We inspected a little different line, so I was trying to get that message across. She hit a bump kind of funny on the exit on that right-footer (turn) and that’s why she got late (low in the line). But she skied really well.”
Goggia came into the race with a confident approach. “Yesterday I felt like it could be mine. Of course, between thinking and doing there’s an ocean,” said Goggia, who used video taken by her coaches to preview the course after it was set on Saturday afternoon. “I had a really good inspection (Sunday morning) and knew I had to be a little bit careful the first five gates, and then I could let my horses run.” That she did, sometimes bouncing and chattering, but was able to use her speed and technical skill to her advantage.
Goggia’s win was her seventh in super G and 25th overall in her career, putting her in a tie for career wins with American Ted Ligety, Swiss great Maria Walliser, and Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister. Gut-Behrami, with 45 World Cup wins across her racing career, came away from the weekend with two podiums, including Saturday’s downhill victory.
While women raced super G at this venue in 2011 in a race won by Vonn, the course was set that year to avoid the Golden Eagle jump midway down the track that launches racers off the snow and can be tricky to negotiate. That year, Beaver Creek picked up a race from Val d’Isere, France, due to poor snow conditions in Europe, and organizers did not have sufficient time to tone down certain features in advance of the women’s race, which came on the heels of the traditional men’s Birds of Prey weekend.
Bringing the women back on a course previously dedicated to men’s events has been a long, hard-fought battle. Across the board, the event received praise by all involved.
“It’s a really nice course, and I think both courses suit us,” said Gut-Behrami, who also won on an adjacent Raptor course in advance of the 2015 World Championships hosted by Vail/Beaver Creek. “It was a great show for everyone. And I think once again it showed that when you prepare a smooth surface, it’s pretty amazing for the women.”
At 33, Gut-Behrami is starting to reflect on a career with numerous wins and medals.
“I started when I was a kid and I was just enjoying what I was doing. I had no idea what was going on and what was expected of me,” said Gut-Behrami. “Now I’m at the end of my career, I have kids at home. It’s different for me. It’s more about the memories for me. In the end, I’m just trying to enjoy what I’m doing even more, and not being angry when things aren’t going the way I want. In the end the last years will be the ones I keep in mind.”
RESULTS
Women’s super G
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