Laura Pirovano triumphs on La VolatA: first World Cup victory ahead of Emma Aicher
If a screenwriter had written the script for the first of three women's World Cup races hosted by Val di Fassa this weekend, the result could hardly have been more dramatic. The downhill race, rescheduled from Crans-Montana, delivered a thrilling finish on the La VolatA slope in the San Pellegrino Ski Area. Italy's Laura Pirovano celebrated the first World Cup victory of her career, finally breaking a long wait after several near misses in recent seasons.
Her moment of triumph at Passo San Pellegrino came after watching the final contenders, most notably Germany's Emma Aicher. The German skier finished just one hundredth of a second behind the Italian: 1:21.40 to 1:21.41 - a margin of less than 30 centimetres between the two runs, leaving the 1,500 spectators holding their breath until the times appeared on the giant screen.
The 28-year-old from Spiazzo Rendena attacked the course from the start gate of La VolatA at 2,510 metres altitude and delivered a clean run throughout. Aicher had been faster through the second intermediate, but Pirovano gained crucial speed in the final sections to claim victory by the narrowest of margins.
After eleven top-five finishes in the World Cup, Pirovano’s first victory - and first podium - fittingly came on home snow in Trentino.
Aicher also had plenty to celebrate. The German, Olympic silver medallist in Milano-Cortina, collected valuable points both in the overall World Cup standings, where she remains second behind Mikaela Shiffrin, and in the downhill standings, where she sits just 14 points behind Lindsey Vonn, currently sidelined by injury.
Olympic downhill champion Breezy Johnson of the United States finished third, 0.29 seconds behind the winner. The skier from Wyoming lost crucial time in the penultimate sector before the final wall, where she conceded 0.36 seconds to Pirovano, possibly affected by slightly heavier snow conditions compared to the previous days' training runs.
Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann narrowly missed the podium in fourth place, just three hundredths behind Johnson, followed by Austria’s Cornelia Hütter and Ariane Rädler.
Among the other Italians, Elena Curtoni finished tenth after starting early in the race. Roberta Melesi, Nadia Delago, Sofia Goggia and Nicol Delago finished between 15th and 19th place. With her 17th place, Goggia's chances of winning the downhill discipline title have effectively ended. However, she still leads the Super-G standings ahead of Robinson and Aicher, with the next race scheduled on Sunday on La VolatA.
Following the Team Captains' Meeting, the bib draw placed Ester Ledecka with bib 1, Mirjam Puchner with 2, Malorie Blanc with 3, Elena Curtoni with 5, Breezy Johnson with 6, Sofia Goggia with 7, Nicol Delago with 13 and Laura Pirovano with 15.
The race will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 at 10:30, and on major international broadcasters worldwide, with coverage reaching more than 120 TV networks.
