Ladies' giant slalom

Giant slalom at Kronplatz from 10.30 a.m. LIVE

Stephanie Brunner was 2.66 seconds down on Alice Robinson.

(Bild: GEPA)

Alice Robinson has won the giant slalom at Kronplatz. The New Zealander triumphed ahead of Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami (+0.56) and the US American Paula Moltzan (+0.94). The race ended disappointingly for Austria, with Stephanie Brunner (+2.66) finishing in 14th place as the best ÖSV skier. For the red-white-red camp, it was the 75th winless giant slalom since Eva-Maria Brems' victory in Jasna in 2016.

Half-time leader Federica Brignone failed early on the challenging "Erta" ("the steep") slope after making a mistake. Third-placed Sara Hector was eliminated in the same shady section. Brignone missed out on extending her overall World Cup lead and also winning a giant slalom in January after the downhill and super-G. Gut-Behrami climbed to second place, 55 points behind.

Federica Brignone

(Bild: GEPA)

Robinson finished fifth in the first run thanks to the best run time and pulled off the coup that had already been announced with three podium finishes this season. "It's a huge relief after years of ups and downs. I took a risk in the second run. It wasn't flawless, but it was fast," said Robinson. She now leads the RTL standings ahead of Hector.

The final score:

Without Scheib, the red-white-red giant slalom skiers recorded their weakest result since Jasna's historic total failure, when none of them finished in the top 30 on January 20, 2024. The results at Kronplatz also remain bleak. A seventh place by Bernadette Schild (2017) remains the highlight in nine South Tyrol races since the premiere in 2017.

Scheib has no regrets
Scheib could have changed that, but failed in the final section of the first run with a 44/100 lead over Brignone. "It's extremely bitter because it was a great run, great skiing. The way it should be skied. The ski just bit too much and I got stuck on the gate," said Scheib, describing her mishap, which will probably leave her with a few hardened muscles. "I was perhaps pushing the limit a little too much. But I am firmly convinced that this is the way to ride if you want to win something. If I'm a few millimeters further away, it goes smoothly."

Snail race for World Championship tickets
Behind Scheib, Ricarda Haaser had already booked her Saalbach start. This time, the Tyrolean didn't make it past 19th place. "I started really well and finished really badly. The finish slope was just bad, my system didn't quite fit," said Haaser. The battle for the remaining World Championship tickets turned into a snail's race. Brunner fluffed before a flat section and struggled for words in the finish area. "Of course, my placings were far from okay for me to go to the World Championship. If you don't have a top ten result, it's not easy."

Julia Scheib was eliminated in the first run.

(Bild: ORF Screenshot)

Behind her Tyrolean compatriot, Franziska Gritsch (17th) achieved the best result of the season in the giant slalom. "You can see that I'm still alive. That's positive for once." Katharina Liensberger had to miss the race due to illness and therefore only scored points in Sölden (8th). Katharina Truppe and Nina Astner were eliminated in the first run. Victoria Olivier (38th) and Viktoria Bürgler (53rd) failed at the 30-meter hurdle.

Scheib is now looking for peace and quiet
Scheib had recently become a catch-up champion with best times in the second runs. Despite the setback, she saw the fact that she was now able to show her fast momentum straight away as a "huge step forward". In terms of points, however, her first start in the top group was not crowned with success. She slipped to 10th place in the discipline ranking.

The saying about the botched dress rehearsal had to be used. "If it's supposed to be the case that it goes down the drain here and then works out at the World Championships, then I don't care about today," said Scheib. Now the focus is on the big event, the 26-year-old wants precious metal in Saalbach. "I'll make sure that I find my composure and prepare well in peace."