Italian skier Federica Brignone clinched victory in the World Cup giant slalom event following her gold medal win at the world championships. Meanwhile, Mikaela Shiffrin, in her first giant slalom race in nearly three months, finished 25th. Brignone, who had been unwell recently, triumphed over Alice Robinson from New Zealand by a margin of 0.40 seconds in Sestriere, Italy. This win came just eight days after they also secured the top two positions in the giant slalom at the world championships, with Robinson maintaining her lead in the discipline standings.
Reflecting on her performance, Brignone expressed, “I am feeling better since yesterday and I knew it was possible to make two good runs and this is what I tried today.” She analyzed her runs, stating, “The first run I didn’t ski so good on the first flat, the second run I tried to keep the rhythm more high before this flat part and just to arc every single turn. This was the only thing I was thinking.”
Thea Louise Stjernesund secured the third position, finishing 1.57 seconds behind. Notably, she missed out on a medal at the world championships by just one-hundredth of a second behind Paula Moltzan of the United States. Moltzan, who was initially in third place after the first run, slipped to sixth position due to an error in her second run.
Lara Gut-Behrami, the defending overall champion, skied off the course near the end of her first run. Britt Richardson from Canmore, Alta., achieved an 11th place finish in the competition. Shiffrin, who had been absent from giant slalom races due to injuries, finished 4.65 seconds behind the leader.
Shiffrin, a holder of 99 World Cup wins, returned to giant slalom racing after a lengthy break caused by injuries sustained in a previous crash. She expressed her feelings about her return on Instagram, mentioning that she still doesn’t feel completely like herself but was glad to be back competing. Due to her injury-induced absence, Shiffrin dropped to 11th place in the ranking list that determines start orders for World Cup giant slalom races.
Shiffrin received bib No. 8 for the race, marking only her third giant slalom start in over a year. Despite previous setbacks, including a knee injury in 2024, Shiffrin has a remarkable record of 22 giant slalom victories in her career, winning the season discipline title in 2019 and 2023.
The race in Sestriere served as a replacement for a previously canceled event in Tremblant, Quebec. Another giant slalom race is scheduled for the following day, with a slalom race to follow.