The American Mikaela Shiffrin struck a nice blow by winning, on Saturday, the giant slalom of Sölden, the opening race of the season of the World Cup of alpine skiing.
She precedes the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami and the holder of the big globe, the Slovak Petra Vlhova.
The French Tessa Worley, on the other hand, was more inconstant.
Set back during the first round, completed with 16th time, the double world champion in the specialty raised her head on the second track, designed by her trainer Lionel Pellicier, to finally finish in 8th place.
“We saw the Tessa who, as usual, reacts during the second round, comments the skier from Grand-Bornand. It's a shame because I finished too far in first to be able to play something. I'm still happy with my reaction, there are some good things to remember, now I have to be more sure of my skiing and my commitment to do two heats of the same level. The best accepted the slope better in the first heat, letting the skis slip away. It's really something that I have to work on technically. "
Despite a strong comeback in the second heat, Worley, 32, was relegated to a second 65 / 100th behind Mikaela Shiffrin.
At 26, she managed the feat of signing a 70th victory on the World Cup circuit.
Only the Swede Ingemar Stenmark and his compatriot Lindsey Vonn did better.
When the men, and in particular the Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, battle it out on Sunday, the season which has just opened in Austria (with the return of the public) will be notably marked by the Olympic Games in Beijing, from February 4 to 20, 2022.