Zrinka faltered after a solid 1st run, far from the best

Modest entry into the season of the young Croatian skier Zrinke Ljutić (20), finished 18th at the traditional opening of the ski season with a giant slalom in Sölden.

In the first run of the first race of the World Ski Cup in Sölden, she finished ninth. The Croatian had starting number 15 and after the first run she was 1.85 seconds behind the leader. Michael Shiffrin. Zrinka lost the most time after the second pass, after which she was 0.65 behind the American. She lost exactly one second in the third pass, but she left behind the other skiers who started with a starting number higher than 10.

But she lost a lot in the second drive. Although at the start she had a 56-hundredths advantage over the then leader, the Swiss Julia Scheib, she lost everything after the first pass, and she piled up the gap to the finish line in the final 1.30 seconds and was in tenth place at that moment.

Shiffrin was the first to start the race, and the American crossed the finish line with a time of 1:05.82. It seemed like Alice Robinson with starting number two taking the lead, the New Zealander had a 0.42 second advantage after two passes, but Shiffrin did a better job on the lower part of the track and that proved to be crucial. Robinson thus had to settle for second place, 0.22 seconds behind, and the following skiers did not topple Shiffrin either. The second-placed giant slalom athlete from last season took third place. Federica Brignonewith 0.40 seconds behind

But all that changed in the second drive. Brignone came from third to first place, Robinson remained second, and Austrian Julia Scheib jumped from 14th to third place. Shiffrin wasted č four-tenths of the lead at the start and finished fifth (+1.21).

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Photo: Leonhard Foeger

Just before the race, the current overall champion Lara Good–Behrami she surprised by withdrawing from the race. She explained that she didn’t feel as she should after training.

– I’m not at one hundred percent, I’m not ready for the race. This was a tough decision, but I just don’t want to risk injury. I expected them to come to Solden with more confidence, but that’s not the case and I hope they’ll get it back in the coming weeks. Today is one of the moments when I want to defend my career – said Gut.

Photo: DENIS BALIBOUSE

On Sunday, giant slalom skiers will perform at the same place with the performance of Filip Zubčić. The first ride is at 10 a.m., the second at 1 p.m.