Federica Brignone in position to win season-long World Cup giant slalom title after fast 1st run

By Canadian Press on March 25, 2025.

SUN VALLEY, Idaho (AP) — Italian ski racer Federica Brignone is in prime position to win the season-long giant slalom title after discipline-leader Alice Robinson failed to finish the first run on Tuesday at the World Cup finals.

Brignone entered the day 20 points behind Robinson in the last World Cup giant slalom race of the season. The 34-year-old Brignone finished the first run in second place. Robinson struggled with a gate and veered off course. Brignone needs to finish 13th or better in the second run to secure the GS crown. Only Brignone and Robinson have a chance at the GS crystal globe.

Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland had the fastest time on the tricky and technical new course at Sun Valley that saw five racers not finish and three more disqualified for missing a gate. Gut-Behrami, the super-G winner Sunday, has shined on this course. She finished in a time of 1 minute, 4.07 seconds for a 0.45-second advantage over Brignone going into the second run.

The 23-year-old Robinson can only watch from the sideline. She’s trying to become the first Alpine ski racer from New Zealand to win a season-long title. This will be only the second time in nine World Cup races this season that Robinson won’t be on the podium.

It’s been a stellar season for Brignone, who’s already wrapped up the overall title, along with the downhill crown. She’s going to be a strong force heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics in her home country of Italy.

American racer Paula Moltzan had a tough run on the demanding Challenger course. She lost a ski pole early in her run and then crashed through a gate and into the protective fencing with the finish line in sight.

Mikaela Shiffrin, a 22-time giant slalom World Cup winner, didn’t qualify for the finals of the GS this season. She’s been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder in the discipline stemming from her November crash at the GS in Killington, Vermont. Shiffrin suffered a deep puncture wound on the right side of her abdomen.

Shiffrin will race in the slalom on Thursday.

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

Pat Graham, The Associated Press