World Cup giant slalom: Katharina Troupe survives first run in Saalbach!

World Cup giant slalom: Katharina Troupe survives first run in Saalbach!

At the Alpine Ski World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, the women's giant slalom is causing a stir. Italian skier Federica Brignone took the lead with an outstanding first run and left her opponents behind. After a confident performance, she leads by 0.67 seconds over New Zealand's Alice Robinson and 1.24 seconds ahead of Paula Moltzan from the USA. The Austrians, on the other hand, had to come to terms with larger deficits, which continues to make the situation exciting Small newspaper reported.

Katharina Troupe, who qualified as a replacement for the injured Ricarda Haaser, had a disappointing run and finished 5.77 seconds behind Brignone. Troupe expressed sharp criticism of her performance and explained that the mistake on the finish slope had cost her the chance of a top 30 placement. Despite the difficulties, she is optimistic about the second round, which will take place at 1:15 p.m. “A second run will definitely be helpful for my giant slalom career,” she emphasized while talking about the difficult piste conditions, which were made even more challenging by the melting snow crown notes.

The other Austrian participants had a similar fate: Julia Scheib was in tenth place, 2.50 seconds behind, while Katharina Liensberger came in twelfth, 2.93 seconds behind. Stephanie Brunner was also unable to position herself at the front of the field with a gap of 4.46 seconds. The athletes' coaches are now demanding a strong performance in the second round, as the starting position is anything but optimal after the long time gaps. “We need a Scheib run 2.0, then a lot is still possible,” says head coach Roland Assinger optimistically.