Nina Ortlieb wins Kvitfjell super-G in stunning fashion while Mikaela Shiffrin waits to match Ingemar Stenmark

Nina Ortlieb won the World Cup super-G on Kvitfjell, finishing at the top of podium completed all by Austrian skiers for the first time in any alpine discipline since 2009.

Ortlieb’s time of 1:29.25 was enough to claim only her second World Cup victory, while Stephanie Venier and Franziska Gritsch finished 0.12 and 0.38 seconds further back respectively, in what was the first all-Austrian Super-G podium since 2005.

Meanwhile, there was to be no eagerly-anticipated World Cup victory for Mikaela Shiffrin, who could have equalled Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86 wins in Norway.

The race began in blizzard-like conditions with a frigid temperature of -8 degrees celsius at the top of course, adding an extremely challenging element to the race, which ultimately proved costly for Shiffrin and those with the top 20 bib numbers.

There were genuine concerns that the race could be abandoned after Alice Robinson lost her balance and collided with the safety netting, as course workers cleared away the excess snow.

Jasmine Flury of Switzerland was bib no.1 and led the way going into the first break with a time of 1:30.13, but was gazumped by Sofia Goggia at bib no.16, with the Italian masterfully managing the tricky conditions to propel herself into the lead with a time of 1:29.94.

There are incredibly fine margins in skiing, and that was the case again with only 0.58 seconds separating the top 10 skiers going into the second break.

A total of 30 racers needed to complete the course the race to be official, which looked to be in the balance after another interruption came in when Valerie Grenier registered a DNF.

Nevertheless, the action continued and Goggia nervously watched on with her time coming under increasing threat.

Speaking after her run, as the snow eased, she said: “I’m happy with my performance because I really showed up; I was attacking the conditions, which were really tough.

“The race has changed. I’m sorry because we came down with criminal conditions and now there is the sun and everything is really fast.”

Her exasperation was clear to see when Gritsch of Austria leapfrogged her into top spot with a time of 1:29.63 – 0.31 seconds ahead of the Italian, and a first-ever World Cup victory looked possible.

That lead did not last long though, and it was Gritsch’s compatriot Venier that moved in front, 0.26 seconds clear at the top, what ultimately proved decisive.

The conditions improved considerably as the race edged closer to its crescendo, as Ortlieb moved top and the prospect of an all-Austrian podium became a reality.

The conditions started to deteriorate again as the final skiers raced down the course, and nobody could significantly challenge that Austrian top three.

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