ARE, Sweden (Reuters) – Italy’s Federica Brignone took her ninth win of the Alpine skiing World Cup season on Saturday to take the giant slalom title battle with New Zealand’s Alice Robinson down to a final race and move closer to her second overall title.
Robinson, 23, finished second — a hefty 1.36 seconds slower — on Swedish snow in Are and saw her lead reduced to a mere 20 points with 100 still to be won.
She and Brignone, the 34-year-old world champion who was fastest in both runs, will be the only ones in the reckoning for the crystal globe in the discipline at the final race in Sun Valley, Idaho, on March 25.
Italian-born Lara Colturi, who represents Albania, finished third.
American great Mikaela Shiffrin, winner of 100 races but still trying to regain her giant slalom form after a crash in November, skied out of the first run and dropped to 30th in the GS standings. She remained 17th overall.
Since her injury, Shiffrin has started three giant slaloms and failed to finish higher than 25th.
Brignone’s 36th career World Cup win increased her overall lead to a mighty 322 points over closest rival Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, who was ninth on Saturday.
“I was pushing so hard, I really like Are – it’s one of my favourite giant slaloms on the tour and I love this snow,” said the Italian.
“She (Robinson) is again second and it’s an amazing fight … she’s an amazing skier. It’s a good fight. I’m happy actually to fight for this and to have such a great skier that plays with me.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
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