BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — Italian ski racer Sofia Goggia found a fast line through the technical Birds of Prey course to win a women’s super-G on Sunday.
For that, Goggia gave a big assist to good friend and fellow Red Bull sponsor Lindsey Vonn.
The 40-year-old Vonn wasn’t competing Sunday, but did serve as a forerunner and tested out the course before the racers. Vonn relayed a course report to the top of the hill for her American teammates — and to Goggia.
Goggia put Vonn’s advice into action as she finished in 1 minute, 3.90 seconds on an overcast and windy day. She held off Swiss racer Lara Gut-Behrami by 0.48 seconds, with Ariane Raedler of Austria storming through the course from bib No. 20 to capture third.
“[Vonn] gave me tips and advice,” said Goggia, who also took second in Saturday’s downhill. “What she said was vital to me. She was right.”
To celebrate, Goggia did a little dance in the finish area. She tried to replicate the samba dance that Brazilian ski racer Pinheiro Braathen broke out on the podium a week ago in Beaver Creek when he finished second in a giant slalom.
“It was a horrible copy,” Goggia said with a laugh.
Goggia had an inkling she could be fast the day before when she was sent a video of the super-G setup. It just fit her style.
“I thought it could be mine,” said the 32-year-old Goggia, who won her 25th career World Cup race. “But between thinking and doing things there is the ocean. I had a really good inspection. I knew I had to stay a little bit careful, the first five gates, and then I could let my horses run.”
Goggia has been on the comeback trail since a training crash last February in which she broke two bones in her right leg. She said she had a screw and plate inserted, which was giving her trouble. So much so she was contemplating retirement over the summer.
In September, she had the hardware removed.
“I felt so free both in my feet and also mentally,” Goggia said. “I’m so grateful to put out my poles at the start gate and have the speed again, the chance. Because this is the best feeling.”
On Saturday, Cornelia Huetter of Austria made history by winning the first-ever women’s World Cup downhill held on the Birds of Prey. She was fourth in the super-G, knocked off the podium by her Austria teammate Raedler, who earned a spot on a World Cup podium for the second time in her career.
Gut-Behrami had a productive weekend, with a pair of podium finishes (third in the downhill). The top American was Lauren Macuga in 12th place. Macuga was fourth a day earlier in the downhill.
For Vonn, the next race will be the real thing — her first World Cup event in nearly six years. She will compete next weekend during a pair of World Cup super-G events in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
“I definitely felt it today. I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got a race in a week,'” explained Vonn, who has 82 World Cup wins. “I’m in that mindset. I’m in the zone.”
