Bassino unbeatable in giant slalom

Italian Marta Bassino continued to be the woman to beat in giant slalom as she picked up her third victory of the season in the discipline today in Kranjska Gora (SLO). The Italian has won every giant slalom race that she finished this season.

Bassino led after the first run by 0.23 seconds and extended her dominance even further in the second run, to pick up the victory by a 0.80 margin.

Second place was a familiar face on tour, but nevertheless a surprise as Tessa Worley (FRA) turned in the fastest second run to jump ahead three places into second place. It was her best World Cup finish since exactly two years ago in Kronplatz.

Michelle Gisin ended the first run in second place, and relegated to third place at the end of the day, but the Swiss was still quite happy to earn her first-ever career giant slalom podium. It also helped her gain a little ground in the hunt for the Overall World Cup. She still sits in second place behind Petra Vlhova and just ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin. Both finished just out of podium range in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Much like the men today’s giant slalom venue had to be changed relatively late due to a lack of snow in originally-planned Maribor. But conditions were good as an icy, challenging course greeted the athletes today.

Tomorrow, the second of two scheduled giant slaloms will take place, with the first run starting at 9:15 CET.