Val D’ISÈRE, France (AP) — Sofia Goggia is unbeaten for a whole year. Now the Olympic champion from Italy is also beginning to dominate in the super-G.
Goggia won the last women’s Super-G World Cup of the calendar year on Sunday, a day after triumphing in his seventh consecutive downhill.
Sunday’s result made her the only skier to have won multiple Super-G victories this season.
“These are two different challenges,” the Italian said of the speed disciplines.
“Because on the descent you have to confirm every time that you are there. In the super-G, I really feel like I’m not the strongest, and I really need to create a nice race.”
Goggia certainly created beautiful skis on Sunday.
In clear weather in the French Alps, Goggia was not the fastest at the start, but mastered the tricky middle part of the O. K. course by 0.33 seconds ahead of the Norwegian Ragnhild Mowinckel.
Her Italian teammates Elena Curtoni and Federica Brignone were third and fourth, respectively, followed by Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished 0.75 from the top to fifth place.
“It was the best super-G of my career. I stayed calm, I was fluid from top to bottom and I never slowed down,” Goggia said.
It was the fifth victory in 17 days for Goggia, who improved his career record to 16 victories, one less than the Italian record of Brignone, the overall champion.
Goggia increased his lead over Shiffrin in the standings to 65 points. The American had originally planned to sit on the race and decided to participate only last Wednesday.
Sunday’s race was the last speed test until mid-January. This is followed by eight technical races, in which Shiffrin usually scores more points than Goggia.
“The Super-G is always difficult. You never know speed, lines, tactics,” Goggia said.
In the super-G, skiers can inspect a course before the start, but unlike the descent, they have no traces of training in the accumulation of a race.
Goggia coach Gianluca Rulfi said after Saturday’s win that she now skis “cleaner” and “makes fewer mistakes and takes fewer risks.”
According to Goggia, she could have taken more risks on Sunday.
“I felt like I was in the top part, I was really precise and smooth, but I held too many lines. I could have just been driving,” she said.
Goggia won the race on the middle part, where she won about half a second over her main opponents for the victory, including Brignone, who won the previous super-G a week ago in St. Moritz.
While Brignone is still officially part of the Italian team, Brignone is working more often this season separately with her brother and coach Davide.
“We know that we are stronger together. My relationship with Federica has improved in recent months and it is great to share these results with her and Elena, ” Goggia said, adding that she dedicated her victory to the great Italian Alberto Tomba, who turned 55 on Sunday.
Mowickel, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, has reached her first podium in almost three years after returning from a serious knee injury.
The Norwegian finished in 19th place, preventing an Italian sampling of the podium, as Curtoni and Brignone still took second and third places before the Norwegian’s race.
“I felt like myself again, go strike and ski clean, and as clean as possible,” Mowinckel said.
“It was a bumpy run all together, but I’m very happy to be back here. I’m back.”
Shiffrin’s teammate Breezy Johnson, after a third-place finish in Saturday’s downhill, finished in ninth place at 1″09 from the top.
The world champion Lara Gut-Behrami, the only other skier that Goggia or Brignone has missed winning the super-G this season, will complete the weekend after having been checked positive for recent times. The former Swiss overall winner will also contest two Giant Slaloms on Tuesday and Wednesday in Courchevel.