Gut-Behrami set to seal record-equalling feat at women’s World Cup Finals

The multi-Olympic and world championship medal winning Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) has, by anyone’s standard’s, already enjoyed an extraordinary career. But now, 17 years after her making her elite level debut, the Swiss star is on the verge of completing her best ever World Cup season and joining rarefied company.

Gut-Behrami will arrive in Saalbach, Austria for the Audi FIS World Cup Finals, 16-24 March knowing that things will have to go very wonky indeed for her not to join Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), Lindsey Vonn (USA) and Tina Maze (SLO) as the only women in history to grab four Crystal Globes in a single season.

Supreme Swiss success

First up, the one they all want: the Big Crystal Globe, awarded to the best skier across all four disciplines.

After winning eight times (once in downhill, three times in super-G and four times in giant slalom) and finishing on the podium an additional eight times, Gut-Behrami has built up a vast 282-point lead over Federica Brignone (ITA). With Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) a further 63 points back.

With four races on the schedule in Saalbach, and 100 points available to the winner of each, it is not quite an unassailable gap. But with Brignone and even Shiffrin – only just returning to top-level racing after more than six weeks out injured – not expected to line up for all four races, this one is almost already back in Switzerland.

The GS Globe will surely be following swiftly behind. A brilliantly skilful performance from Brignone in Are, Sweden last weekend kept this race alive but still facing a 95-point gap the chasing Italian is running on fumes.

Even if Brignone repeats the feat and grabs another GS win at the Finals Gut-Behrami would still only need to finish inside the top-15 to secure the title.

The numbers are a little tighter in the speed disciplines, but only a little.

Gut-Behrami has a 69-point lead in the super-G and a 68-point advantage in the downhill over Conny Huetter and Stephanie Venier respectively. The Austrian pair will be doing their best to put the pressure on, but realistically they need an aberration from the Swiss racer.

Given Gut-Behrami has only finished outside the top-10 three times in her 25 World Cup appearances to date (one DNF in super-G, and an 11th and a 13th  in downhill) it seems unlikely.

Instead, it is far more probable that the red-suited Swiss star will triumph again at some point across the next two weekends to join Renate Gotschl (AUT) with 45 World Cup wins, fifth on the list of all-time winners.

For a 32-year-old who has never won a downhill or a GS Crystal Globe before, and only claimed the Big Globe once (2015/16) it has been a truly remarkable season.

Brignone and Shiffrin fight for headlines

At any other time it would be Brignone’s season that demanded the headlines. A year older than her Swiss rival, she has won five times already (three GS and two super-G triumphs). In the process she has become the oldest ever female GS World Cup winner and the most successful Italian women’s World Cup skier.

Second in the overall standings, second in the GS and third in the super-G, whatever happens in Saalbach, veterans Brignone and Gut-Behrami have laid down a serious marker for the young guns.

Shiffrin may no longer count as a young gun, but the recently turned 29-year-old has of course amazed too this season. Despite being out injured from 26 January – 10 March, the American has won six out of her nine slalom races and secured her eighth World Cup slalom title last weekend.  

Naturally, it would be no surprise if Shiffrin adds to her record 96 World Cup victories in Saalbach.

Ljutic: a star on the rise

While Huetter and Venier will not be confident of overhauling Gut-Behrami in the speed disciplines, the duo are firmly on course for their best ever seasons.

Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) knows how they feel. Specialists Lena Duerr (GER) and Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) plus enduring all-rounder Michele Gisin (SUI) have all shone at times in the slalom, it is the 20-year-old Croatian who is ending the season with a bang.

Second in each of the past three World Cup slaloms, Ljutic has the chance to become the youngest winner since Shiffrin back in 2016. Fine company indeed.

Follow all the action of what is bound to be a thrilling Finals right here.