Crans-Montana (Switzerland) (AFP)

Imperial downhill this winter, the Italian Sofia Goggia pocketed her second victory in two days in the specialty on Saturday in Crans-Montana, on a selective track which once again succeeded to the Slovakian Petra Vlhova.

The 28-year-old Lombard, the reigning Olympic champion, edged the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami by 27 / 100th, victorious last year but reduced by pain in her back and pelvis, and by 60 / 100th the Italian Elena Curtoni.

Reigning Olympic champion in the specialty, the skier from Bergamo signs the eleventh success of her career on the world circuit and the fourth in a row in downhill, the first woman to achieve such a series since American Lindsay Vonn in 2017/18.

"I knew I could do well at Crans Montana, it's a track that I have in me (...) and I changed my mental approach: I took yesterday's victory as a third training session for today ", explained Sofia Goggia on arrival.

Muzzling her usual ardor, she measured her engagement on an icy and winding track, made perilous for the first twenty bibs by the low light.

"It was really dark, like we didn't have any contrast, so I didn't have enough confidence to attack on some parts, but I was surgical on the ones where I couldn't lose speed," he said. the skier.

- Ledecka too greedy -

Delayed Friday by the snow, then disturbed by the wind and cut off from its first part while sliding, the race was this time disputed over its entire route, offering the Italian the opportunity for a more complete demonstration. .

She flies off in the race for the globe of the specialty, with 480 points, i.e. 195 ahead of the American Breezy Johnson and 210 over Corinne Suter, eagerly awaited in the Valais resort but disappointing on Saturday (8th) as already on Friday ( 14th).

Sofia Goggia erases a nightmarish 2019/2020 season marked by a broken arm in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, then by the violence of the Covid-19 pandemic in her city of Bergamo.

With three representatives among the first four - Laura Pirovano ranked 4th at 82/100 -, the Italian collective is more impressive than ever: despite a Federica Brignone less sparkling than last year, when she won the big crystal globe, Marta Bassino crushes the competition in giant as clearly as Goggia in descent.

The other good operation is once again for Petra Vlhova, who takes the lead in the general classification of the World Cup thanks to his 7th place, after finishing 4th on Friday, a sign of his clear progress in speed.

The Slovak now distance by 120 points the Swiss Michelle Gisin, 10th on Saturday.

Considered one of the most difficult tracks on the women's circuit, the Mont-Lachaux saw Czech Ester Ledecka pay for her maximum risk taking by failing in the nets, before setting off again on her own two legs.

A super-G is still scheduled for Sunday in the Valais resort, to replace one of the two races canceled at the beginning of December at St-Moritz.

© 2021 AFP