Italian skier Brignone leads World Cup GS, seeks 1st win for her team in Austrian event since 2002

SEMMERING, Austria (AP) — Federica Brignone posted the fastest time in the opening run of a women’s World Cup giant slalom Saturday, aiming to become the first Italian winner of the event in 22 years.

Brignone led defending overall champion Lara Gut-Behrami by 0.15 seconds, with Olympic GS champion Sara Hector 0.24 behind in third.

No Italian skier has won the race near the Austrian capital of Vienna since Karen Putzer triumphed in 2002. The race in Semmering is held every two years.

In the absence of the injured Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan was the leading American racer, trailing Brignone by 0.53 in fourth.

Lindsey Vonn, who made her return to World Cup racing in Switzerland last week, only competes in the speed events of downhill and super-G.

Brignone mastered a tricky passage near the end of the Zauberberg course, where Italian coach Giorgio Pavoni had set the gates for the first run.

“It’s good, rhythmic and with a lot of turns,” said Brignone, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist and 2011 world champion in the discipline.

Brignone has won three of the last four giant slaloms and is ranked second in the discipline standings this season, behind Hector.

There’s no timetable for Shiffrin’s return to racing after the U.S. star underwent abdominal surgery to clean out a deep wound she received in a GS crash on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont.

Shiffrin has won the GS in Semmering four times, including both races in 2022 when the event featured an additional GS to make up for a cancelation earlier that season.

Shiffrin is the record holder for the most World Cup wins – both in giant slalom (22) and overall (99).

Also missing was Petra Vlhova, the former overall champion from Slovakia who won the race in 2020, after she suffered a setback in her recovery from knee surgery.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing