Sara Hector, the Olympic champion, secured her second women’s World Cup giant slalom victory of the season on Saturday, as Italian skier Federica Brignone fell during the first run.
Hector, who was the fastest in the first run, finished 1.42 seconds ahead of 18-year-old Lara Colturi from Albania, taking the lead in both the giant slalom (GS) and overall standings.
Brignone, 34, had been aiming to extend her GS lead but was unable to continue after her fall in the first run. This race marked her return after becoming the oldest winner in women’s World Cup history at Semmering in Austria the previous weekend.
Hector, who also won a race in Killington in November and placed second in Semmering, now leads the GS standings with 296 points, 96 points ahead of Brignone. She has also climbed to the top of the overall leaderboard with 407 points, 24 points ahead of Switzerland’s Camille Rast.
With Mikaela Shiffrin sidelined due to injury, AJ Hurt emerged as the top American racer in Kranjska Gora, finishing 10th, 2.73 seconds behind Sara Hector, and ahead of her teammate Nina O’Brien.
Lindsey Vonn, who made her World Cup comeback in Switzerland on December 21 after nearly six years away from racing, is focusing on speed events like downhill and super-G. She is scheduled to compete again next weekend in St. Anton, Austria.
