Italian skier Brignone wins World Cup season opener as Shiffrin drops to 5th

SOELDEN, Austria — Federica Brignone had just mastered the tricky Rettenbach course on a glacier in Austria.

The Italian skier wasn’t done, though. She did a chicken dance in the finish area.

Brignone found the fastest line between the turning gates to win the women’s World Cup season-opening giant slalom on Saturday after first-run leader Mikaela Shiffrin dropped to fifth.

“It was a surprise for me. I’m very proud of what I did, but I never expected to be in front,” said Brignone, whose shoulder-wiggling celebration was the result of a bet with her Italian teammate Asja Zenere.

Brignone became the oldest winner of a women’s World Cup race at 34 years and three months, overtaking former Austrian skier Elisabeth Goergl, who was 33 years and 10 months when she last won in December 2014.

Shiffrin posted only the 27th-fastest time in the second run of the giant slalom and the American finished 1.61 seconds off the lead.

Brignone defeated Alice Robinson of New Zealand by 0.17, while Austrian skier Julia Scheib trailed by 1.08 in third for her first career podium result at her home race in front of 15,800 spectators.

Defending overall champion Lara Gut-Behrami decided shortly before the start to skip the race.

“This is incredible, for sure, Soelden is one month before all the rest of the season for me, so I will have to work hard, still. This is an amazing start of the season,” said Brignone after her 28th career win and second in the traditional season opener after winning it in 2015.

“Today I’m stronger in the head than nine years ago, when I won here for the first time,” she said. “Now I can control my emotions much better. Today I managed to do everything right and ski the way I wanted.”

Brignone drew praise from Italian teammate Marta Bassino, who said “‘Fede’ is crazy, she’s been skiing really hard all summer, and she’s always been my greatest example. She has a desire and determination to imitate.”

Shiffrin, analyzing her second run, said her timing was off.

“If I miss the timing, then I’m just kind of fighting against the tracks the whole way down. This hill, if you are fighting it, then it is so slow,” said the American, who was aiming for her record-extending 98th career win.

Shiffrin said after the first run that her “only task is to bring more intensity or more aggression, try to find time somewhere.”

Losing her lead, Shiffrin even finished behind American teammate Katie Hensien, who placed fourth for her career-best result in her first race back from a year-long injury layoff.

Another American, Nina O’Brien, finished seventh and also had a career-best result in her first World Cup race in 19 months after recovering from a fractured left lower leg.

It was the first time in 32 years the U.S. women’s ski team had three racers among the top seven in a World Cup giant slalom. Paula Moltzan rounded off the strong team showing by placing 11th.

Holding the women’s record with 22 wins in the discipline, Shiffrin was racing her first GS since injuring her knee in a downhill crash in January. She is leaving the downhill off her schedule this season.

Gut-Behrami didn’t start as she did “not feel 100%.”

The Swiss star, who suffered from knee problems and missed a week of training recently because of the flu, made the decision after course inspection shortly before the race.

“During the inspection, doing the warmup, I understood it was not the day to race. You can not go to the start and feel 90% or have doubts about your health,” Gut-Behrami said. “I don’t want to be injured to stop my career. I just want to be able to understand when it’s over and I don’t think it’s today.”

Gut-Behrami, the Olympic super-G champion and 2021 world champion in GS, became the oldest winner of the women’s World Cup overall title at 32 last season, overtaking five-time champion Shiffrin on top of the standings in the second half of the season, when the American was out nursing a knee injury. She also won the giant slalom season title.

The men race in Soelden on Sunday, while the women continue with a slalom in Levi, Finland, on Nov. 16.