VAL d’ISÈRE, France (AP) —
Sofia Goggia has been unbeaten in downhill for an entire year. Now the Olympic champion from Italy is starting to dominate in super-G, too.
Goggia won the last women’s World Cup super-G of the calendar year Sunday, a day after she triumphed in her seventh straight downhill.
Sunday’s result made her the only skier with multiple super-G wins this season.
“It’s two different challenges,” the Italian said about the speed disciplines.
“Because in downhill, you have to confirm every time that you are there. In super-G, I really feel like I’m not the strongest and I really have to create a lovely race.”
Goggia certainly created some lovely skiing on Sunday.
On a crisp clear day in the French Alps, Goggia wasn’t the fastest starter but mastered the tricky middle section of the O.K. course to beat Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway by 0.33 of a second.
Italian teammates Elena Curtoni and Federica Brignone were third and fourth, respectively, followed by Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished 0.75 off the lead in fifth.
“This was the best super-G of my career. I stayed calm, was fluid from top to bottom and never slowed down,” Goggia said.
It was the fifth win in 17 days for Goggia, who raised her career tally to 16 wins, one short of the Italian record held by Brignone, the 2020 overall champion.
Goggia increased her lead over Shiffrin in the overall standings to 65 points. The American initially planned to sit out the race and only decided last Wednesday to compete.
Sunday’s race was the last speed event until mid-January. Next up are eight technical races, where Shiffrin usually scores more points than Goggia.
“Super-G is always tricky. You never know the speed, the lines, the tactics,” Goggia said.
In super-G, skiers get to inspect a course before the start but, contrary to downhill, they don’t get training runs in the buildup to a race.