Maiden World Cup victory for Ramona Siebenhofer in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Jan 18, 2019·Alpine Skiing
Ramona Siebenhofer of Austria had skied the fastest downhill training runs on numerous occasions and had two podium finishes to her name, but she had yet to win a World Cup race until Friday in Cortina d'Ampezzo (ITA) where she bested Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia by a decisive 0.40 seconds in the opening downhill at the resort. The race replaced the cancelled downhill from St. Anton (AUT).
Organisers were forced to lower the start to the top of Tofana in the morning due to overnight snowfall. But the incredible scenery and athletic performances proved noteworthy for spectators both on site and those viewing on TV.
Siebenhofer's teammate Stephanie Venier skied to her first podium of the season in third place, just 0.06 seconds from Stuhec. But Stuhec's solid performance in second helped the Slovenian skier on the return from last season's injury to make a push for the season standings lead. She now sits only 10 points behind downhill standings leader Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT) who won both races at the speed opener in Lake Louise. Siebenhofer, meanwhile, is third in the standings at 28 points behind her teammate.
The ladies will contest another downhill at Cortina d'Ampezzo on Saturday, and organisers plan to use the top start for a full-length run.
Complete results from today's race are available here.
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