Super-G World Cup open

Women’s Super-G in Kvitfjell from 11am LIVE

Lara Gut-Behrami triumphed on Saturday

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Lara Gut-Behrami took victory in the first women's super-G in Kvitfjell on Saturday. The Swiss racer triumphed by twelve hundredths ahead of Cornelia Hütter, who in turn was one hundredth faster than Mirjam Puchner. Stephanie Venier made a mistake and dropped back significantly as a result. Hütter therefore remains in the race for the Super-G World Cup.

Lara Gut-Behrami kept the Austrian phalanx at bay in the first of two World Cup Super-Gs in Kvitfjell and took another big step towards her second overall World Cup victory. The Swiss racer finished just ahead of Cornelia Hütter (+0.12 sec.) and Mirjam Puchner (+0.13) on Saturday in Norway. In the Super-G World Cup, Gut-Behrami extended her lead over Hütter to 25 points with two races to go.

Cornelia Hütter finished in second place

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Austrians had already come very close to the World Cup leader with strong split times. Like Hütter and Puchner, Christina Ager, Stephanie Venier and Ariane Rädler were still ahead of Gut-Behrami after the upper section. While Crans-Montana winner Venier was 1.25 seconds behind Ager (+1.19 seconds) in eleventh place after a mistake in the middle section, Rädler was eliminated shortly after the second intermediate time after a snowfall.

Difficult conditions
Hütter showed a strong race in light fog and a soft slope due to the plus degrees, but a small mistake in the lower section cost the Styrian her possible second win of the season. She finished in the top two in the super-G for the fourth time in the seventh race. "I'm super happy that I can pick up where I left off in the last few races," said Hütter. "That's something you have to achieve first, to ride solidly for a whole season."

The reward is the chance to win her first small crystal globe. "Lara has a bit more experience than I do in crystal globes. That's why I'm pleased that I can hold my own," emphasized Hütter. "Of course she made up a few points on me, but you give up a letter." The 31-year-old was particularly proud of her progress in the technical area. "It's good that you can ski straight ahead." However, the super-G is becoming increasingly technical. "As a speed skier, I'm very close to the technicians."

"Brutally happy"
 Puchner was up to eight tenths of a second ahead of Gut-Behrami at one point, but lost the decisive time in the finish. "Of course it hurts a bit when you lose so much," said the woman from Salzburg. "But I'd rather be too far out and lose a lot than sleep from top to bottom." She was delighted with her third place this season. "It was important for me to attack. I did that really well today."

Mirjam Puchner

(Bild: ANDREAS TROESTER)

Venier, on the other hand, was disappointed. "There were a few key passages in there that you had to ride with your head. I didn't succeed in one of them, but the rest were okay," said the Tyrolean, who lost almost a second in the middle section. In the discipline ranking, Venier seems to be out of the race, 170 points behind Gut-Behrami. "It can't always be uphill. My season is already mega, the rest is uphill."

Preliminary decision in the overall World Cup?
Fourth place was shared by Germany's Kira Weidle and the Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka (+0.24). Nadine Fest finished 22nd after a good intermediate time, Ricarda Haaser, Christine Scheyer and Sabrina Maier did not see the finish line. Franziska Gritsch was disqualified after 30th place. According to the ÖSV, the binding plate of one of the Tyrolean's skis was slightly too high. Lena Wechner (27th) and Michaela Heider (28th), on the other hand, scored World Cup points.

In the overall standings, Gut-Behrami is now already 305 points ahead of US star Mikaela Shiffrin, who is aiming to return to the World Cup next weekend at the technical races in Aare following her injury. "You shouldn't even start calculating. If you calculate too much, you'll be tense and perhaps lose your agility," said Gut-Behrami. It was the 32-year-old's 45th World Cup victory, her 22nd in the super-G.

Here is the World Cup standings:

She was not completely satisfied with her run. "I was clearly too good in the upper part. It was better in the lower section, where I was able to take advantage of a few turns." Gut-Behrami has already won eight races this season, including the Super-G in Zauchensee and Cortina. In Kvitfjell, the Olympic champion could go one better in another super-G on Sunday (11 a.m.) - even if she did not describe herself as a "top expert" on the soft, slushy snow.

Replacement program
A downhill was actually planned for Saturday. However, because persistent snowfall and fog had made the two downhill training sessions on Thursday and Friday impossible, it was decided to hold a second super-G instead. There is only one downhill left on the program at the World Cup final in Hinterglemm. This could also be the decider between Gut-Behrami and Hütter for the super-G globe.