Red-hot Gut-Behrami strengthens grip on overall title with Crans Montana downhill win

Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) made it four wins in four Audi FIS World Cup starts to give the mass of Swiss fans exactly what they wanted in the first of two back-to-back women’s downhill races in Crans Montana.

Nothing it seems can stop the Swiss racer right now. Not challenging conditions, not a relative lack of form in the quickest of disciplines and not even two inspired rivals.

“It was not an easy run. The snow it is pretty soft so everything gets more challenging. I have to say I didn’t have a great feeling, I just tried to push hard,” said Gut-Behrami, whose time of one minute 19.11 seconds placed her just head of teammate Jasmine Flury and Austrian star Conny Huetter – who tied for second in 1:19.32.

Lightening quick both on the steep pitch up top – her second sector was a huge 0.21 seconds quicker than anyone else – and in the more sweeping lower section, Gut-Behrami was clear where she felt she won her first World Cup downhill in more than two years.

“I think today the difference was about the attitude,” the 32-year-old said. “I made a few mistakes, sometimes my ski wasn’t catching. So, I would say it was a fight to stay on my skis and try to be fast.”

She found more than enough speed on the shortened downhill course to claim her seventh win of what is turning into a truly remarkable season.

Her latest home snow triumph – the ninth of her career and fourth in Crans Montana – puts Gut-Behrami 105 points ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) in the race for the overall Crystal Globe. It also puts her firmly in the running for the downhill crown, lying just 41 points behind Sofia Goggia, with the injured Italian out of competition until next season.

Add on the fact Gut-Behrami is leading both the giant slalom standings (a significant 135 points ahead of Federica Brignone ITA) and the super-G rankings (10 points clear of Huetter) and it is odds on that the Swiss star will match Shiffrin’s lauded 2019 season feat of claiming four Globes.

Huetter will be hoping to stop her and her run on a course where she fell heavily 12 months ago will certainly have boosted her confidence.

“It was a good run, it was a little bit slushy from the conditions but the surface was OK and a very solid run,” said the Austrian, who had just one previous downhill podium finish to her name this season.

She also knows where she can improve for Saturday’s second go.

“At the flat (section) I was a little bit too slow because I think the first gates I skied a little bit too many turns before, so I didn’t take the speed with me,” she explained.

Such fine margins may be on Flury’s mind too. The first Swiss racer out of the gate got the cow bells ringing early but she was not immediately certain she deserved the cheers at the finish line.

“Definitely not,” Flury laughed when asked if she had realised quite how quick she was skiing.

“I usually don’t like it if I don’t feel the skis under my feet and with these kinds of conditions it is a little bit like that but I just tried to focus, to push a bit more than in the training runs, to be active until the finish line,” the 2023 downhill workld champion added.

Priska Nufer (SUI) continued to plaster smiles on the faces of the locals. Starting with bib 16, she jumped up to seventh to bring back memories of her sole World Cup triumph, achieved in Crans Montana back in 2022.

Rival Laura Pirovano (ITA) was another to rekindle a love affair with the picturesque resort. The Italian grabbed fourth to not only lead home her storied compatrioits Marta Bassino (fifth) and Brignone (sixth) but to also match her best ever World Cup downhill finish, also achieved in Crans Montana, in 2021.

She will get another chance down her favoured slope on Saturday, with racing starting at 10:30 CET.