Laura Intestine-Behrami wins GS, tops Mikaela Shiffrin in WC standings

SOLDEU, Andorra — Swiss skier Lara Intestine-Behrami got here from a good distance behind to win a girls’s World Cup large slalom by one-hundredth of a second on Saturday, and overtake the absent Mikaela Shiffrin on high of the general standings.

Intestine-Behrami improved from ninth place after the opening run to edge out New Zealand’s Alice Robertson. Shiffrin’s teammate AJ Damage completed 0.15 behind in third for the American’s first profession podium in GS.

Having fun with a three-race profitable streak, Intestine-Behrami raised her season’s tally to 1,214 factors, 5 greater than Shiffrin, who sits out this weekend’s races to nurse a left knee harm.

“Sure, however that is most likely one month too early,” Intestine-Behrami stated with a smile on regaining the lead within the total standings with 14 races left till the season ends on March 23.

“For the general World Cup, this season has proven us that it’s a must to be quick and it’s a must to be wholesome. That can all the time be my high precedence,” stated Intestine-Behrami, who additionally led the standings after profitable the season-opening race in Austria in October.

Many high skiers have been concerned in critical crashes these days and suffered season-ending accidents, together with Petra Vlhova, Valerie Grenier and Corinne Suter, and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Alexis Pinturault and Marco Schwarz on the boys’s circuit.

Shiffrin injured her knee, however averted harm to the ligaments, whereas touchdown from a leap and crashed into the security netting at a downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, 15 days in the past.

She may even skip Sunday’s slalom in Andorra as her return to racing is but unclear. Intestine-Behrami doesn’t compete in that self-discipline.

“I’m simply so joyful in regards to the win. It was a troublesome race, I missed fully the primary run, I did not come into velocity,” stated Intestine-Behrami, who completed 0.61 seconds off the tempo within the morning session.

Marta Bassino led Federica Brignone for an Italian one-two end within the opening run, however they dropped to sixth and fourth, respectively.

Bassino was the junior world GS champion 10 years in the past. She gained the World Cup title within the self-discipline in 2021 however has gained only one World Cup race over the past three years.

Most racers struggled and misplaced time on a bump in a proper flip close to the tip of the course. Intestine-Behrami did as nicely, however the remainder of her run was near-flawless.

“Second run was good, I simply attacked. I had an enormous mistake on the end so I am actually joyful that in the long run it labored out,” she stated. “Every thing I used to be lacking within the first run, I wished to indicate within the second run. The course was good, I loved that.”

Damage continued her breakthrough World Cup season together with her second profession podium, and first in GS.

“I feel I simply went as arduous as I might. I used to be like, I will go all out, both I fall out or I I will make it to the end hopefully actually quick,” the California native stated.

Damage earned her first podium when inserting third at a slalom in Slovenia 5 weeks in the past, and had two top-10 leads to GS earlier than Saturday’s race.

American teammate Paula Moltzan completed eleventh.