Marta Bassino held off Federica Brignone for Italy’s one-two end within the opening run of a detailed race within the ladies’s World Cup large slalom on Saturday.
Bassino was 0.03 seconds quicker than her teammate, ending inside two-tenths of a second from the lead with New Zealand’s Alice Robinson third and Norway’s Thea Louise Stanesson fourth.
Mikaela Shiffrin will miss this weekend’s race whereas recovering from a left knee damage, that means the American star may lose the lead within the general World Cup standings to Lara Gut-Behrami.
The Swiss skier received the final GS and leads Shiffrin with 95 factors. Gut-Behrami must win the race to overhaul the American, however he’s ninth within the rankings after the opening run and may regain 0.61 over Bassino within the following.
Shiffrin may even miss Sunday’s slalom in Andorra, as her return to racing stays unsure. Gut Behrami shouldn’t be competing in that subject.
Shiffrin injured her knee 15 days in the past whereas touchdown from a soar on a downhill slope in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and crashed into a security web.
Other main large slalom racers absent are Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova and Canada’s Valerie Grenier, each of whom just lately suffered season-ending accidents.
Saturday’s race noticed Bassino present his finest because the Italian skier goals for his first podium of the season.
“It was a stable run. You want a really feel for snowboarding. I believe Bib 1 helped me loads,” she mentioned.
Bassino was the junior world GS champion 10 years in the past. Although she received the World Cup title on this occasion in 2021, she has solely received one World Cup race previously three years.
“It hasn’t been a straightforward time, with a number of errors and a number of ups and downs. So I’m simply placing all of the items collectively,” mentioned Bassino, who received the super-G world title in France a 12 months in the past.
___
More AP Skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing