Federica Brignone wins a World Cup giant slalom. Mikaela Shiffrin finishes third
Federica Brignone of Italy celebrates her win on the podium at the women's World Cup giant slalom ski race in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn
TREMBLANT, Quebec — Federica Brignone of Italy picked up her first World Cup victory in two seasons by winning a women's giant slalom on Saturday. Mikaela Shiffrin finished in third place.
Brignone covered the two legs on foggy Mont Tremblant — which hadn’t hosted a World Cup ski race in 40 years — in a combined time of 2 minute, 14.95 seconds. Petra Vlhova of Slovakia was second fastest in 2:15.16, followed by overall World Cup leader Shiffrin in 2:15.24.
Shiffrin was denied what would have been a record-extending 91st career World Cup win.
Brignone had the quickest opening leg in the morning and held on for the win with the third-best run in the afternoon. The only better second legs were turned in by Vlhova and Shiffrin.
Sara Hector of Sweden was second fastest in the first run but faded to fourth, and Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland went from third place to fifth.
Brignone was the 2020 World Cup overall champion and the silver medalist in the giant slalom at last year’s Beijing Olympics, behind Hector. Gut-Behrami took the bronze at the Winter Games.
Gut-Behrami was seeking a third consecutive GS win to start the season after coming in first in the season-opening race in Austria in October — where Brignone was the runner-up — and at Killington, Vermont, last weekend.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States arrives at the end of the course as she races in the women's World Cup giant slalom in Mont Tremblant, Québec, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Frank Gunn
Shiffin won the GS season title last season while setting the record for most career wins in the discipline with 21. She finished sixth in this season’s opener, then was third in Killington.
There is another women's giant slalom scheduled for Sunday in Tremblant.
