As with the victorious season opener in Sölden, Gut-Behrami was in a class of her own in Killington. After the first round, the field was close together at the top. Robinson led 0.06 seconds over Sweden’s Sara Hector and 0.08 seconds over Gut-Behrami. In the decision, Gut-Behrami then showed her current top form and prevailed 0.62 seconds ahead of 21-year-old Robinson, who still has to wait for her first World Cup victory in over two and a half years.
“Normally I struggle with the conditions here. In the upper part I had the feeling that my skis were always slipping away. It felt strange standing on the skis. I then drove tighter and the balance was right again. I’m no longer the youngest, but everything is currently falling into place in giant slalom,” said Gut-Behrami in an ORF interview.
Gut-Behrami’s winning run
After third place, the Swiss took first place at the break.
Mikaela Shiffrin came third, 0.81 seconds behind, and has to wait for her first RTL victory in her home country. She has already won the slalom, which is on the program on Sunday (4 p.m. and 7 p.m., live on ORF1), five times. “I’m very happy, especially after last year because I was never able to give my best performance here. “I’m happy with my podium finish,” explained the 28-year-old American.
Disc with risk in top ten
Of the ÖSV women, Scheib delivered the most consistent performance across both rounds. The 25-year-old Styrian, who was eliminated in the first round in Sölden, finished ninth in the first round. Scheib took full risks in the upper part of the decision, but then she made a mistake that cost a lot of time. With the tenth best running time in the decision, Scheib still moved up two places, achieving the best result of her career.
“That’s good. I struggled in the second run. It was dark, it tossed me back and forth, and I had a lot to do. Just scoring points wasn’t an issue for me. I had a clear plan and self-confidence from the first round. The only motto was attack. I’m looking forward to the further races in Canada,” explained Scheib, who has already had to cope with several setbacks in her career due to injuries.
Scheib’s second run
Julia Scheib confirmed her good idea from the first round in the decision at Killington-RTL and finished in a strong seventh place.
Liensberger and Gritsch with improvement
For her part, Liensberger seemed to be on her way to another sobering result on RTL. The 26-year-old from Vorarlberg botched the first round and was only in 24th place, 2.11 seconds behind. In the decision, however, she showed an upward trend and ran the fastest time together with Lara Colturi, who was starting for Albania. “The second run invited you to pull. I was definitely able to implement that well. There’s certainly a lot more inside. But I can take a good feeling with me for the slalom,” said Liensberger.
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Video highlights from the Women’s RTL in Killington
Franziska Gritsch also showed improvement in the second round. The 26-year-old barely made it into the decision in 30th place. There the Tyrolean improved by 15 places and came 15th (2.81). “The first round felt like a disaster for me. I then tried to put all my frustration and everything that annoyed me into the second round. I managed that quite well, but not so much down below. I imagine a different kind of skiing myself. But I will work on that,” said Gritsch.
Stephanie Brunner was 20th (3.10), Ricarda Haaser 26th (3.48). For Haaser from Tyrol it was the first race of the season after a break due to back problems. Elisa Mörzinger (33rd), Katharina Troupe (41st), Michaela Heider (42nd) and Katharina Huber (43rd) did not qualify for the second round; Elisabeth Kappaurer was eliminated.
