Today, under warm temperatures and difficult conditions, Federica Brignone repeated her performance from last season with an impressive Super-G and Slalom runs to claim her third career Alpine Combined victory at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Skiing from first place after the Super-G, the Italian attacked Mont Lachaux with the fastest slalom run to finish 0.92 seconds ahead of an impressive Franziska Gritsch from Austria and 1.82 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Ester Ledecka.
Federica Brignone has now won four of the last five Ladies' Alpine combined World Cup events held in Crans-Montana, in 2017, 2018, 2019 and today.
"I don’t know what the magic [is] here in Crans-Montana for me, but it’s really amazing. The crowd is amazing. I don’t know. I feel a little bit lucky today, but it was a good fight. For sure, I made my race with the super G", reflected Brignone. "There is a kind of magic here. I’m always really comfortable with the snow and with this slope. Today, I wasn’t even stressed at the slalom. I just tried to do my best and really attack from the start to the finish".
She also takes the lead of the Overall and the Alpine Combined Standings with only one AC race to go in La Thuile. Last season she won the first and last Alpine Combined race in Crans-Montana, but no globe was awarded because the FIS rules require two races to be contested in order to award a discipline globe.
Franziska Gritsch, a 22 years old specialist in technical events, completes a surprising Super-G run in 5th place which, in addition to her technical slalom skills, allows her to grab the second seasonal podium after St.Moritz Parallel Race.
Ester Ledecka, who put together a great Super-G run added to an excellent slalom one, grab her third World Cup Podium after Lake Louise (1 place, Downhill, 2019) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (3 place, Downhill, 2020).
