A young talent who can dominate the future has won
(Flavio Vanetti) From the great veteran to the young talent who can dominate the future, but who is already writing important pages in the present: within 24 hours of 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn’s return to success, the second St. Moritz descent of the World Cup changed “master” and elevated the 22-year-old German Emma Aicher to the top step of the podium for the third victory of her career, the second in free climbing.
Third is Sofia Goggia, who thus reaches the first “top three” of the season – number 63 in her history in the Cup – with a clear progression compared to race 1, but not yet sufficient to stay ahead of everyone. «Sofi» knows very well that she still has margins and that work on refining the details awaits her: «Today I skied with more hair on my stomach and much more confidence. Too bad for the long curve to the right at the end: I entered quickly, but I wasn’t able to reverse well because my left foot slipped away and made me end up very low, at the risk of missing the next door. With a smudge like this and given the waste reduced by Emma and Lindsey I can say I’m happy: in short, I’m there; but I have to grow up. Not to make any convenient excuses, but it’s a fact that in training in the USA I was only able to prepare for the giant slalom: there weren’t the conditions to also test the speed, so on this front I have some work to do.”
Emma Aicher has therefore brought the two dear friends to an agreement – at the finish line selfies galore and a beautiful duet for use by Rai and other media – who promise each other a respectful mutual fight “in a season – comments Sofia – with exciting conditions”. Fifth in the downhill on Friday 12th, behind Goggia by just 10 hundredths of a second, dominant in the second downhill, with all split times “green” except the second (in a point which was not yet decisive), the German made a move thanks to which she canceled the 1’35″74 with which Lindsey Vonn had shaved off the 1’35″79 of the Italian. In a tight race this time (on Friday the American had inflicted discards from second and above on everyone, while this time the top ten were within 60 seconds of difference) the excellent positions were completed by the American Johnson (fourth), by the Austrian Puchner and by Laura Pirovano, sixth and in turn improving even if she gives the idea that she is always missing some detail to close the circle and finally hit a podium. The rest of the Italian team did poorly – Roberta Melesi, 24th, the first after Goggia and Pirovano – with a special mention for the Delago sisters, too slow and out of the points: Nicole ruined the memory of the twelfth place on Friday, while Nadia just doesn’t get going and is certainly not the one who reached bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games.
»Sofia and I made a mistake on the same point, however it’s nice to be together on the podium again, given that above all we want to win» is Vonn’s comment, the object and subject of an anecdote told by Sofia: «Last year I was in Salzburg at an event for my brand of skis. There was already a rumor that she would return to competition and it occurred to me that only she could have done something like that. I called her, she confirmed everything. I told her: “It would be nice if we found ourselves on the podium again.” Lindsey replied, “Let’s keep it as a dream of ours.” Here, that dream is now reality in this new first time together. But I looked at her face and realized that she only likes to win. Me too. We are therefore just at the beginning of a great battle in which we are both very excited. Lindsey is a crazy woman: I watched her win big when I was in the European Cup and I wondered if I would ever feel the same emotions.”
The story would have given Sofia an affirmative answer, giving her too unforgettable moments. The fight between the two – in a now expanded field of opponents – will continue on the Corviglia track on Sunday 14 December in super-G. Joint promise: “We will sell our lives dearly.”
