Two young athletes, Lauren Macuga and Malorie Blanc, attract attention in St. Anton. The 22-year-old American wins the super-G, while the 21-year-old Swiss confirms her strong downhill performance.
The interviews with the two young skiers were similar: like Blanc on Saturday, Macuga was also struggling for words on Sunday after her exploit. "I still don't know what exactly happened," said the American, who provided the next big surprise of the weekend in St. Anton in the super-G. Of course, she also had a bit of luck, as the visibility was slightly better during her run than before.
But that alone does not explain the clear lead of 68 hundredths over second-placed Stephanie Venier. Macuga simply showed a very good performance and confirmed her strong form. In only her second World Cup season, Macuga has always finished in the top 12 in five speed races. In the downhill in Beaver Creek, she almost knocked Lara Gut-Behrami off the podium with start number 27. Now she celebrated her first podium finish and victory in the World Cup at the same time.
Blanc keeps a calm head
Blanc is still a year and a half younger than Macuga and competed in her second and third World Cup races in St. Anton. After being eliminated at the premiere in St. Moritz, she underlined her great potential in Austria. The skier from Valais, who won gold in the super-G and silver in the downhill at last year's Junior World Championships, followed up her sensational second place on Saturday (bib 46) with another top 10 finish the following day in ninth place (bib 33).
It was not easy to prepare mentally for the super-G, explained Blanc. There was so much hype surrounding her between the two races that the young Swiss racer barely had time to clear her head. "That's why I'm very happy with how it went today," said Blanc, who is now looking forward to recovering at home after confirming her performance.
Gut-Behrami annoyed about mistakes
Lara Gut-Behrami was less happy. This is despite the fact that the skier from Ticino was the best Swiss skier in 5th place and thus took the sole lead in the discipline. "It's not going the way I wanted at the moment," said Gut-Behrami, who had improved by eight places compared to the downhill. She keeps making unnecessary mistakes, said Gut-Behrami, who is still waiting for her first race win this winter.
Even without a podium finish, the Swiss team achieved a good result. With Corinne Suter in eighth place, the Swiss were the only nation with three skiers in the top 10. Behind them, four more Swiss-Ski athletes - Jasmina Suter (19th), Joana Hählen (20th), Priska Ming-Nufer (25th) and Michelle Gisin (27th) - finished in the points.
Brignone and Vonn impress
In addition to the two young skiers Blanc and Macuga, two more experienced athletes were also able to look back on a successful weekend. After her downhill victory, 34-year-old Frederica Brignone also stood on the podium in the super-G - for the 73rd time in her career. She finished third behind Austrian Stephanie Venier, who made the home crowd cheer. Meanwhile, Brignone was delighted to replace Zrinka Ljutic at the top of the overall standings.
It was not yet enough for returnee Lindsey Vonn to reach the podium. However, the 40-year-old American has shown with 6th place (downhill) and 4th place (super-G) that there is not much left for her to greet the podium again. The last time she achieved this was on March 15, 2018, when she came third in the super-G in Are. It speaks to the mental strength of the 82-time World Cup winner that she immediately finished in the top 15 again in three races after a five-year break.
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