On a shortened course due to the wind, Gut-Behrami beat the Italian Marta Bassino by seven hundredths and the Swedish Olympic champion Sara Hector by 20 hundredths.

World champion in the specialty at Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy) in 2021, Lara Gut-Behrami had not won a World Cup giant since Sölden (Austria) in October 2016, i.e. 37 races without a win.

Leeward of Vermont, Gut-Behrami (31) had a solid first run (3rd at 43/100 from Sara Hector) before a second tricky route which put several skiers in difficulty.

Victorious of the big crystal globe in 2016, young ski prodigy, Lara Gut-Behrami experienced a crossing of the desert for several seasons before being reborn in 2021 and chaining victories in super-G and downhill.

In February, she became Olympic super-G champion and won the giant bronze medal in Beijing.

Holder of the title of the small crystal globe of the specialty, Tessa Worley did not shine for the first giant of the season, the resumption in Sölden having been canceled due to bad weather conditions.

The French only took 7th place at 84 hundredths.

Well launched in the second round, Clara Direz left the course a few doors from the line.

"A correct race, neither good nor bad. I am playing among the best, I still have a little work to get the podium. It was a sprint with no room for error", reacted Worley.

Highly anticipated at home after winning the first two races of the season, American Mikaela Shiffrin only finished 13th at 1 sec 40, never seeming to find the rhythm of the track.

Frenchwoman Tessa Worley during the giant slalom in Killington, United States, an alpine skiing world cup event, November 26, 2022 Gregory Shamus GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

She remains the huge favorite in the slalom on Sunday: she has five victories in five races between the tight stakes in the resort.

Shiffrin retains the lead in the general classification, 50 points ahead of the Slovak Petra Vlhova, 4th on Saturday.

© 2022 AFP