Brignone rejoices

Women’s downhill in St. Anton – LIVE from 11.15 am

Stephanie Venier was 33 hundredths off the podium, with Federica Brignone snatching victory.(Bild: GEPA)

Stephanie Venier was 33 hundredths short of a place on the podium in the downhill in St. Anton on Saturday. The Tyrolean finished in fifth place in her home race, with Italian Federica Brignone snatching victory. The 34-year-old triumphed ahead of surprise winner Malorie Blanc from Switzerland and Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic. Lindsey Vonn celebrated a brilliant downhill comeback, the US-American finished the race in sixth place.

The downhill in St. Anton had a lot to offer. The 34-year-old Italian Federica Brignone celebrated her first victory in this discipline on Saturday with a lead of just 7/100 over the 21-year-old Swiss Malorie Blanc, who almost completely turned the outcome on its head with start number 46. Behind Ester Ledecka (CZE) and Laura Pirovano (ITA) came Stephanie Venier, who finished a surprising fifth and best Austrian, as did Lindsey Vonn in sixth place.

The final result:

The US American presented herself in the second race after her comeback already a touch faster than ÖSV figurehead Cornelia Hütter (7th). Nina Ortlieb (8th) and Ariane Rädler (10th) were other Austrians in the front field. Mirjam Puchner (18th) is already under pressure in the race for a World Championship ticket. With Christina Ager (24th), Ricarda Haaser (25th) and Nadine Fest (26th), eight ÖSV skiers finished in the points.

Brignone "surfed" to victory
The abundance of fresh snow over the past few days not only meant that the race was shortened, but also that the snow was rather soft. Many of the top aces struggled with the line, with Italy's top technician once again showing the tightest turn. "It wasn't easy today," said Brignone on ORF. "It's like surfing, not skiing. It wasn't a perfect run, but I fought a lot."

Venier had not finished better than 13th in the three speed races of the season before. "I didn't think it would work again so quickly after the last races. I didn't feel good, but I don't think anyone down there felt good today." She had trained really well around Christmas and New Year, explained the Tyrolean. The result takes pressure off and gives confidence. "You want to be there at a home World Championships, you don't get that so often in a skier's career."

Nina Ortlieb(Bild: APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER)

Hütter remains World Cup leader
Ortlieb also pulverized her 22nd place from Beaver Creek in her comeback season. The runner-up in the World Championships possibly even missed out on a podium place with a serious mistake on the "icefall" run. Italy's speed queen Sofia Goggia was also doomed by this passage, landing in the safety nets after an inside skiing mistake and remaining uninjured. Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami only came 13th, meaning that Hütter will also be wearing her red race number as the discipline leader in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Cornelia Hütter(Bild: GEPA)

However, Hütter was annoyed that she had not achieved the desired result with her "basic speed". "It was my fault that I pulled back a few percent. I know that such conditions are simply my weakness," said Hütter. "I didn't ski well, you can see that on the video. I'll have a good look at that tonight."

Cheers for Vonn and sensational woman Blanc
Vonn was jubilant at the finish. "This is a great day for me," said the 40-year-old, who had returned from skiing retirement with an artificial partial knee prosthesis. "I know what I can do. I can still improve on today. Tomorrow is another chance, I'm going to enjoy it," said the 82-time World Cup winner, who competed in her last World Cup downhill almost exactly six years ago.

Lindsey Vonn(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

The Swiss racer Blanc had already impressed in training with fourth place. The fact that the 21-year-old made it onto the podium in her first World Cup downhill a month after her debut in St. Moritz was nevertheless surprising. "I wanted to take it easy and have a lot of fun. That worked out well," said Blanc. Almost exactly a year ago, Blanc won junior silver in the downhill behind Victoria Olivier from Vorarlberg. A super-G is on the program on Sunday (11.15 am).