Cortina, the rivals of the Goggia? They are Brignone and Bassino

On Saturday and Sunday the races on Olympia, with the blue awaited protagonists. The Aosta Valley: «Olympics in the sights». The Piedmontese: “Now I rest, I’ll be at the top”

Not only Sofia Goggia. Federica Brignone and Marta Bassino book a place in the sun on the Olympia delle Tofane.

The weekend on the Austrian snow, which has just gone to the archive, said that both the blues have all the credentials to achieve a victory.

Predictions in hand, the favors are all on the side of Brignone, winner in the super G of Altenmarkt Zauchensee with a race on the verge of perfection. The Aosta Valley is now pressing Sofia Goggia in the general classification who managed, despite the downhill fall that has largely conditioned the performance of the super G, to maintain the leadership in the standings.

332 points for the Goggia, 327 for the Brignone: just five points, as many as enough for the Bergamo to keep the red bib in sight of Cortina.

For Brignone, that in the super-G on Sunday was the eighteen victory in the world cup, the sixth in the specialty.

“I’m so happy. In my career I have won a lot but it is always a different emotion “, commented the Carabiniera from Valle d’Aosta,” I was not feeling well, I thank the doctors and physiotherapists who helped me. My knee was not at its best, I did something in the gym but it was important to give it my all on the track. I am not a safe person regardless: I need to ski well, I must have continuous confirmation. This year I am calmer, now a few days off at home and then concentrated in Cortina. I have the Olympics in my sights, but they are still far away because first there will be the Italian stages which are very important so that must be the focus. I will try to get to the Olympic Games with as much confidence as possible and with as many useful results as possible ».

A couple of days of vacation also for Marta Bassino who closed her performance at Altenmarkt Zauchensee in super G with a fourth place.

«I’m happy because when I arrived I felt a bit on the edge. I couldn’t always be in time. Now I’ll rest for two days, then I’ll go to Cortina: the idea is to do everything, then Kronplatz and we’ll see for Garmisch ».

The Piedmontese from Borgo San Dalmazzo belonging to the Army sports center, despite having neither competed in tests nor downhill, managed to obtain her best result of the season in super G finishing 43 cents from Brignone. Space in the top ten also for Elena Curtoni, eighth at the finish line with a delay of 59 cents.

Said of the Super G classification, all unchanged in the general where Michaela Shiffrin remains in the lead (absent in Austria and in the current state of things to be considered still uncertain his presence also in Cortina, on a track where he has always done well) with 966 points ahead of Petra Vhlova, coached by Matteo Baldissarutti di Santo Stefano (929) and Goggia (669). Sofia Goggia first in the downhill classification, followed by the American Breezy Jonhson and the Austrian Ramona Siebenhofer.

The athletes competing in Austria were able to benefit from a mini-rest session before the tour de force which, from Cortina, will take them to the Olympics Beijing (qualification permitting) via Plan De Corones. These are the crucial hours to get to know the names and faces of all the protagonists who will battle on the Olympia delle Tofane with a particular eye, as mentioned, turned to Shiffrin.

The long weekend in Ampezzo will begin on Thursday at 11 am with the first downhill test which will be followed by the second on Friday (10 am).

Downhill on Saturday at 10 with live coverage on RaiSport and Eurosport, on Sunday at 11.45 the grand finale with the super G, also live on TV on RaiSport and Eurosport.