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World Ski Championships: Women’s giant slalom – LIVE from 9.45 am

(Bild: AP)

Women's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach! The first run is underway, we are reporting live (see ticker below).

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The Austrian quartet is made up of Julia Scheib, Katharina Liensberger, Stephanie Brunner and Katharina Truppe, with Scheib, who came third in Sölden, having the best chance of winning a medal. "The favorites are clearly others," said the Styrian. Defending World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin is missing.

"I hope it will be a good day, where maybe luck will be on my side. I think I'll have to force luck a little. But basically I feel very good and I'm really looking forward to Thursday," said Scheib. She has digested the botched team competition, when she lost her duel against Estelle Alphand due to a mistake, and prepared herself in peace on the Reiteralm, she says. The giant slalom "is something completely different and I want to start fresh".

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Scheib about herself: "The most inconsistent"
There have been five races in the discipline in the World Cup so far, two each won by the Italian Federica Brignone and the Swede Sara Hector. In the last giant slalom to date, New Zealand's Alice Robinson came out on top at Kronplatz. Shiffrin has decided not to compete in the World Championships and is concentrating on the slaloms in Saalbach. The US American won gold in the team combined with Breezy Johnson on Tuesday. Hector was last Olympic champion in Beijing in 2022. Brignone won silver at both the 2023 World Championships and the Olympics. Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami is also among the title contenders in the giant slalom.

Sara Hector

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

In addition to a third place, Scheib has also achieved a fourth and a sixth place this winter, but also has two failures on her list. "To be honest, I have to say that of those who are the fastest, I am also the most inconsistent," she admitted. The home advantage is a small hope, but in the same breath Scheib also said: "Race day is race day, things are often different there." The weather forecast for Thursday again promises difficult conditions with warmer temperatures and some precipitation.

Brunner in search of the puzzle piece
Brunner's current form is "a very, very fine line", as she said herself. "I'm very fast in some sections, then very slow again. I still have to find the piece of the puzzle." Her best result for several years was fourth place at the World Cup final last season - in Saalbach. "The slope also suited me very well in training, I have to say. Of course, I also know that I have to have two bomb runs to achieve anything. But at the World Championships, only one, two, three count, so I can easily be at the start."

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The same applies to Katharina Liensberger and Katharina Truppe. For Liensberger, the dream of a team combination medal with Mirjam Puchner did not come true, she only finished fifth. "But I'm taking the positive moments that the race has already given me with me. Crossing the finish line and seeing all the people cheering is really wonderful," said the 27-year-old. "I'm glad that the race is about to continue. I know the procedure and I know what's important."

Truppe replaces injured Haaser
Truppe can only surprise after bronze in the team combined with Stephanie Venier. "I'm not even one of the outsiders, so I'm even further away. I haven't qualified for a year and a half, I'm now a stopgap," said the Carinthian, who is taking over the place that was intended for the now injured Ricarda Haaser. Truppe last competed in a second RTL round in Mont Tremblant in December 2023 (23rd place).

However, the now 29-year-old has already surprised in the discipline once before. She finished fourth at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. "If I had known how my giant slalom career would continue, I might have enjoyed it a little more," said Truppe in Saalbach. She can enjoy the World Championship race on Thursday. "I can be relaxed at the start, I have nothing to lose. Then on Saturday there's the real competition, where I should be sober."