Ragnhild Mowinckel takes World Cup super-G glory in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Mikaela Shiffrin pays for late error

A ragged finish cost Mikaela Shiffrin dear, as she was beaten to super-G glory in Cortina d’Ampezzo by Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel.

Shiffrin was looking for her 83rd World Cup win, which would have broken her out of a tie with the great Lindsey Vonn for the most wins on the women’s World Cup circuit.

The American was blisteringly fast at the top and kept up the speed in the middle section as she chased a win to follow up her success at Cortina in 2019.

But after green lights on the timing screens all the way down, she got out of shape on the bottom section and shipped a chunk of time, stopping the clock at 1:23.84 – which could only secure her seventh place, way down on Mowinckel.

“I made a little error with my timing on the last turn on the course, and it is really flat there so you lose some speed,” Shiffrin said. “But it was quite a strong run I think.

“It was an interesting course to ski, it was really fun. It was interesting to inspect and make a plan and then to ski was really nice.”

It was an emotional win for Mowinckel, her third in World Cups, after battling back from two serious knee injuries that forced her to miss the whole of the 2020 season.

The 30-year-old’s form has been gradually improving, and she burst into life in Italy on Sunday to secure the win.

“I am super-duper happy about my ski,” Mowinckel said. “It was a bit weird as I didn’t think I was going that fast. I was generally surprised when I saw the time in the finish as I know it was a tight finish, so I am super-excited.”

Marta Bassino led for much of the race with a time of 1:23.69, but she was eclipsed by Mowinckel who stopped the clock in a time of 1:23.22.

Bassino’s run was good enough for a place on the podium in third, while second place went to Cornelia Huetter in a time of 1:23.52.

Federica Brignone began the day at the top of the super-G season standings, and focused her weekend on the race. But she failed to find her best form and finished 11th in a time of 1:24.06.

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