How many stars!

Mikaela Shiffrin on her right, Lara Gut-Behrami on her left, and tennis legend Roger Federer in front of her, came as a neighbor for a sunbath and a long selfie session with skiers in heaven.

Yet it was Romane the star of the day, after a first victory full of panache in the resort of Graubünden.

"It's crazy, I can't believe it. The race was hard but I was finally able to do a complete + run + from top to bottom. I didn't think I was fast, I felt like I was late at every door," she said.

With bib number 8, the 27-year-old Frenchwoman took all the risks to set the best time, failing to make mistakes several times on a twisty and difficult course which brought out fourteen skiers.

While she had never done better than 5th on the world circuit, Miradoli put an end to the endless tricolor series: no Blue had won the World Cup in a speed event for more than 17 years and the success of Ingrid Jacquemod on the downhill of Santa Caterina (Italy) in January 2005. As for the last victory in super-G, it was the work of Carole Montillet in Haus im Ennstal (Austria) in February 2004.

Shiffrin recovers

The skier from Flaine (Haute-Savoie) is rewarded for her tenacity after having been able to recover from several hardships: a personal tragedy in 2016 with the death of her companion in a wingsuit accident: then in December 2020 the rupture of a ligament left knee cross in Courchevel.

She only returned to competition a year later, three months ago.

French skier Roman Miradoli, during the Super G in Lenzerheide, March 5, 2022 Fabrice COFFRINI AFP

This fan of adrenaline sports (paragliding, surfing, motorcycling, water skiing, etc.), multiple world medalist among juniors between 2013 and 2015, has cultivated her versatility (downhill, super-G, giant, combined) and bounced back after the disappointment of the last Olympic Games in Beijing in February (11th in the super-G, 13th in the downhill, exit during the combined slalom where she seemed to be able to play for a podium).

Outstripped by 38/100, the American Mikaela Shiffrin raised her head after the catastrophic Olympic Games (zero medals in six races, three off the track).

Her 11th podium of the winter allows her to take a 67-point lead in the general classification over her Slovak rival Petra Vlhova, only 18th on Saturday.

Swiss Olympic super-G champion Lara Gut-Behrami finished 3rd at 88/100.

The Italian Federica Brignone, finally 9th, won the small globe of the specialty before even starting, taking advantage of the fault of her compatriot Elena Curtoni, the only one who could still overtake her.

At 31, Brignone won a first small super-G globe, two years after winning the general classification, and two weeks before the last super-G in Courchevel during the finals.

The other French women also performed well: Tessa Worley took 6th place, Laura Gauché 9th, Tifany Roux 25th, before the giant also scheduled for Lenzerheide on Sunday.

© 2022 AFP