Sofia wins the last World Cup race in Kvitfjell and wins the specialty cup. For the Bergamo native it is the fifth cup after the four won in the downhill
After Laura Pirovano here is Sofia Goggia. Women’s Italian skiing continues to give us joy and specialty world cups. With a great performance on Kvitfjell’s Olympiabakken finds its best version, with some imperfections but also with a speed that no one can match. Sofia wins ahead of Corinne Suter and Kira Weidle. It is the third success of the season after the victories in Val d’Isere and Soldeu is worth more, just look at Sofi’s tears at the finish line, or when Alice Robinson, the only one who could have snatched the trophy from her, finished behind her. “When you are in the running for the Cup and you also manage to win, there is a lot of satisfaction” says Sofia, who collects her 29th success in the World Cup. “I am very happy, but also very tried. It hasn’t been an easy season for me. There were 3 victories, bronze in the downhill, 7 podiums, but consistency was lacking, especially in the downhill. It was the first time and it wasn’t easy. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it, but this cup makes me a complete sprinter.”
The pressures and the fear
“I have had moments of strong pressure in recent days – Sofia Goggia told Rai microphones –, especially in my head. And I was also afraid of not making itperhaps due to an error or an exit. At the gate, however, I breathed and thought about all the beautiful things I am capable of doing. When I crossed the finish line and saw the green light for 6 tenths I thought that there wouldn’t be many athletes able to pass me. The season didn’t live up to expectations, especially downhill. But now I have this super-G Cup that I will place alongside the four downhill cups and for a sprinter who wants to be complete it was very important to win it. When you manage to win the trophy and also win the race it’s positive. The weekend in Val di Fassa wasn’t easy: I came from the Olympics and had an 84 point lead over Robinson. My expectation was to score points and arrive in Norway having already won my cup. But that weekend I couldn’t stand up, I couldn’t ski in any way. Since then there have been another two weeks of suffering, and great tensions that exhausted me and were really heavy on my head. The peculiarity of super-G is that it is a very different discipline from downhill, which is prepared day after day. The beauty here is that it is a mix of technique, strategy, instinct: it is a very complex and very intense discipline. I’m very happy, but I’m also very tried. It hasn’t been an easy season. When you feel that your skiing level is very high, but you are unable to achieve results that go beyond mediocre, everything becomes complicated. There were some peaks at the top, but it was an inconsistent season. However, this Cup makes you happy”.
