The Austrian Vincent Kriechmayer won the Super-G of the Alpine Skiing Worlds in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Thursday ahead of the German Romed Baumann and Alexis Pinturault, who had not been on a podium in this discipline since 2014. The skier of Courchevel, in sparkling form this season - he is the leader in the general classification of the World Cup - could not have hoped for better to gain confidence in these Championships where he will aim for gold in the giant and in the combined, even in the slalom.
Reigning vice-world champion, Kriechmayer (29) won his first gold medal at the Worlds, after gleaning silver in super-G and bronze in downhill at Are in 2019, during the previous edition of the World's Championships.
He was ahead of two surprise guests: left Thursday with the number 20, Baumann had signed his only podium in super-G in November 2010, while Pinturault had not finished among the top three in the discipline since the stage of Beaver Creek World Cup December 6, 2014.
Tricky trail
The leader of the World Cup standings offered Thursday the fifth medal of his career at the Worlds (2 gold, 3 bronze).
Apart from the winner, solid leader of the Super-G World Cup, the hierarchy of the discipline was turned upside down on Thursday by a track made tricky by a difficult jump from the start of the course.
Apart from the winner, solid leader of the Super-G World Cup, the hierarchy of the discipline was turned upside down on Thursday by a track made tricky by a difficult jump from the start of the course.
The Austrian Matthias Mayer (2nd in the classification of the specialty) finished sixth and the Swiss Marco Odermatt (4th) in eleventh position.
Nine skiers gave up on the first thirty starters, including Mauro Caviezel (3rd in the Super-G World Cup standings).
Besides Pinturault, another Frenchman distinguished himself: for his first world championships, Matthieu Bailet offered himself a seventh place.
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