Alpine skiing: Sofia Goggia, victory despite the fracture

The Italian Sofia Goggia, operated on her left hand after her fracture the day before in the first descent of Saint-Moritz (Switzerland), nevertheless won the second on Saturday.

Reduced but still skiing with as much commitment, the 30-year-old skier was 43 hundredths ahead of the Slovenian Ilka Stuhec and 52 hundredths of the German Kira Weidle.

With his left hand taped to his ski pole, Goggia made a superb descent, always in search of speed, in the curves in particular, to claim his 18th victory in the World Cup.

The day before, the Transalpine had made a round trip to Milan to undergo surgery for a fracture of the second and third metacarpals of the left hand.

Known for her taste for risk, Goggia won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics last February after being impaired by a sprained knee.

Last year, she missed "her" World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2021 due to a right knee injury.

Saturday, the second descent was held under a bright sun, much more favorable to the speed of the skiers.

The start therefore took place higher on the track, unlike the day before, where it had been lowered.

Behind Goggia, Ilka Stuhec, 32, returned to the World Cup podium for the first time in three years, on the trail of her first love: she had won her first title of world champion in the discipline in 2017. , before a second world title in Are (Sweden).

Winner of the first descent on Friday, Elena Curtoni did not confirm this success.

Slower and less precise, the Italian took eighth place, far from the double that would have allowed her to earn a fourth success in the World Cup.

Fourth, the star Mikaela Shiffrin managed a very good descent.

Ahead at the top of the track, she did not manage to maintain this pace, losing time at the bottom of the track, but confirmed her progress in this discipline, which is not her favourite.

Another candidate for the podium, the Swiss Corinne Sutter, third on Friday, made a mistake in a turn and almost fell.

She eventually finished in fourteenth position.

In the general classification of the World Cup, Shiffrin is still in the lead (475 points) but it is now Goggia (425) who is second, ahead of Switzerland's Wendy Holdener (366).

The Saint-Moritz stage will end on Sunday with a super-G (11.30 a.m.).