The sky is blue above Val di Fassa.
A vivid blue, more intense than ever. After Laura Pirovano's fairytale double victory, returning home with the red bib of the downhill leader, Italy sealed the hat-trick: the third victory came from Elena Curtoni from Valtellina, who won the super-G that closed the long World Cup weekend in Passo San Pellegrino, where Asja Zenere from Vicenza also achieved her first podium finish, an incredible third place with bib number 33, confirming the excellent work done on the track by the organisers.
Curtoni, who had not won for over three years, found her smile again on the La VolatA slope, an important training base for the Italian team thanks to the Piste Azzurre project. The Fassa stage of the top international circuit gave new vigour and confidence to those who, more than others, needed it most, allowing them to put down on paper in the rankings what they knew they had in their legs: on Friday and Saturday it was Pirovano's turn, today it was Curtoni and Zenere's.
On Women's Rights Day, celebrated in the parterre with a dedicated banner, the Italian women made the most of their home advantage treating themselves to a weekend that will remain etched in their memories as well as in those of the 3,000 fans and enthusiasts who flocked to watch the event.
Elena Curtoni took centre stage, achieving her fourth World Cup victory, her second in super-G after the one in Cortina d'Ampezzo in January 2022, while the last victory for the Cs Esercito athlete was on 16 December 2022, when she won the downhill in Saint Moritz.
The Valtellina native carved out perfect trajectories, finding the right balance between lines and speed in a race that highlighted the technical qualities of the athletes. On the "Muri del Poeta", a distinctive section of La VolatA, this time it was Curtoni who found the right inspiration, the same inspiration that in the previous two days had earned her national team mate and great friend Laura Pirovano, who finished eighth today, not far from the podium, the nickname "poetess". The Trentino native arrived at the last event of the weekend running on empty, having expended all her physical and mental energy in the two downhill races. No matter, though, as Sofia Goggia's ninth place should also be viewed positively, as she managed to limit the damage and defend her lead in the super-G standings in what was a difficult weekend. The Bergamo native, who finished ninth, climbed to 449 points with one race to go, the finals in Lillehammer, managing to maintain a good lead over New Zealand's Alice Robinson (386), who was knocked off the podium by Asja Zenere. The Vicenza native's third place has added value, which is also important for the team's overall result.
While Robinson and France's Miradoli, tied at 34 hundredths behind Curtoni, were preparing to celebrate with the Valtellina native and Norway's Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (second at 0.26), Zenere arrived to spoil their party and add another touch of blue to the podium, the first in the World Cup for the Vicenza native.
Zenere, who started with bib number 33, finished in third place, 0.27 seconds behind Curtoni and just one hundredth of a second behind Vickhoff Lie. Shortly before, Mikaela Shiffrin had crossed the finish line, finishing 23rd and bagging some valuable points for the overall standings, led by the American with 1141 points, against 1016 for her direct competitor Emma Aicher, who went off course today.
Returning to the Italian team, Pirovano finished eighth, Goggia ninth and Roberta Melesi twelfth. Sara Allemand also scored points, finishing 26th, while Sara Thaler, Nicol Delago and Ilaria Ghisalberti narrowly missed out on a place in the top 30. Nadia Delago did not finish.
The weekend of 2024, when too much snow forced the organisers to cancel the important World Cup event, seems like a distant memory: a great Italy paid a well-deserved tribute to the equally great work done by the Organising Committee led by Val di Fassa Grandi Eventi, with the support of the technicians from the Ski Team Fassa, US Monti Pallidi and FassActive clubs. It was a big celebration for everyone at Passo San Pellegrino.
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