‘Full gas all the way’ – Federica Brignone completes giant slalom double at Mont Tremblant

Federica Brignone beat Lara Gut-Behrami and Mikaela Shiffrin to clinch her second FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup win of the season and complete the weekend double in Mont Tremblant.

The Italian held on to take the top step in Canada on Saturday and made it two golds in as many days when her overall time of 2:11.95 saw her pip Gut-Behrami by 0.33 seconds.

It is Brignone’s 23rd World Cup win and means she now holds the record on her own for the most victories by an Italian woman, a distinction that was held by Sofia Goggia heading into the weekend.

Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova led after the first runs but had to settle for fifth after losing ground on the Tremblant slopes.

Brignone’s second run saw her vault into top spot and she survived the best efforts of Shiffrin and Gut-Bahrami.

Gut-Bahrami came up agonisingly short of beating the Italian but did manage to snatch silver by just 0.06 seconds.

Shiffrin had to settle for a second successive bronze, just 0.39 seconds off the ultimate pace, in what was the 141st podium of her illustrious career.

The result boosted the American’s lead in the overall standings to 79 points over Vlhova but the day belonged to Brignone.

At the age of 33, she became the oldest women’s World Cup giant slalom winner since Austria’s Anita Wachter in 1999.

The Italian mastered the challenging conditions to bounce back from a mistake in the first run to complete the weekend double.

“I tried to go all-in, and I knew the conditions were really tough, because we couldn’t see, it was snowing, it was windy. But normally in these conditions I’m good. My brother said to me before the second run, ‘OK, we are ready, we have been training like this for a month now’.”

After the event in Canada, the skiers will return to Europe for three races in St Moritz next weekend.

The men’s super-G race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, meanwhile, had to be cancelled yet again on Sunday.

“Too much wind this morning,” a statement read. “The super-G race had to be cancelled.

“We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers and the hardworking team. Your dedication is the true spirit of this sport. Hope to have a better weather for next races.”