Marta Bassino earned today in Crans Montana her first win and second podium in Downhill in the World Cup.
She finished ahead of teammate Federica Brignone (+0.54). Yesterday's winner Laura Gut-Behrami finished in third place 1.11 seconds behind Bassino.
It´s Bassino's 29 podium and 7th victory in the World Cup. Her six previous World Cup wins came in Giant Slalom. She achieved her first and only Downhill podium in Bansko in 2020.
Like last season the Italian Team celebrated again a 1-2 podium in the Downhill in Crans Montana. In 2023 Sofia Goggia won ahead of Federica Brignone.
"It's incredible, a great run. It's my first win. It's nice to be back at the top after a difficult season. I implemented everything we analyzed from yesterday perfectly. I just tried to be fast. I had the right line in the important sections. The snow conditions suit me, and the start number wasn't a disadvantage either. The whole team skied really well", Bassino said.
Federica Brignone finished in second place. The 33-year-old Italian Skier has finished on the Downhill podium in the Alpine Ski World Cup seven times but she never won a race in this discipline. She finished on the podium 64 times in the World Cup.
"I was pushing, I felt free and I was able to do my best skiing. The upper section didn't come perfectly, but I'm really happy about the rest. I didn't make the mistake I did yesterday so I'm really proud about it", Brignone said.
After today's podium, Lara Gut-Behrami extended her lead in the World Cup Overall standings over Mikaela Shiffrin to 165 points. She also takes over the lead in the Downhill standings 19 points ahead of Sofia Goggia. It's her 87th podium in the World Cup, 23rd in Downhill. Austrian Stephanie Venier and Cornelia Hütter are 68 and 72 points behind respectively in third and fourth place with only two Downhills remaining in the calendar.
"It was difficult today. I had to vomit before the start. From tiredness. It was one of my toughest races. This has never happened to me before, mentally you have to work hard, physically it's tiring. It had to come out. It's crazy, for me Downhill is a discipline in which there are conditions in which I'm fast and others in which it's not possible at all. The fact that I can be at the forefront is crazy", Gut-Behrami said.
24-year-old Elvedina Muzaferija from Bosnia-Herzegovina finished in fourth place 0.11 seconds off the podium, her best result in the Alpine Ski World Cup. Previously, 14th place in the Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo was her best result.
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