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Kranjska Gora Giant Slalom Races Preview



Kranjska Gora is an alpine resort in northwestern Slovenia, near the mountains and glacial lakes of Triglav National Park, in the Julian Alps, close to the Austrian and Italian borders.

Kranjska Gora annually hosts an event in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup series, also known as the Vitranc Cup, for the Slalom and Giant slalom events.

The Vitranc Cup is one of the largest, best organized, and most visited traditional sports events in Slovenia and in the central part of Europe. The first skiers competed in the Vitranc Cup for the first time in 1961, and since 1968 the Vitranc Cup has been part of the FIS International Alpine Skiing World Cup.

In the 2020-2021 season, the competition for the Vitranc Cup will record its 60th performance. For two days, the best Giant Slalom skiers and Slalom skiers will measure their strength on the slope in Podkoren and fight for the best places.


But this season, due to a lack of snow, the 57th Golden Fox Trophy races originally scheduled in Maribor (Slovenia) on 16th and 17th January 2021 will be also held in Kranjska Gora on the same dates and with the same starting times.


Kranjska Gora Program


Giant Slalom. Saturday, January 16th, 1st run 11:00, 2nd run 14:00 (CET)

Giant Slalom. Sunday, January 17th, 1st run 9:15, 2nd run 12:15 (CET)


Marta Bassino won the first two women's Giant Slalom World Cup races this season, in Sölden on October 17th and in Courchevel on December 12th. She DNF in the second race in Courchevel, on December 14th, won by Mikaela Shiffrin.

The last World Cup Giant Slalom race in which Bassino finished, yet did not win, was last season's contest in Kranjska Gora where she came fifth.

On December 14th, Mikaela Shiffrin won the Giant Slalom in Courchevel. In Flachau on Tuesday, Mikaela Shiffrin became the eighth alpine skier to claim 100 World Cup podiums in all disciplines. She claimed her 68th World Cup win. Of her 68 World Cup race wins, Shiffrin has achieved 44 in the slalom, 12 in the Giant Slalom, and another 12 across five other events combined. Her 12 race victories in the Giant Slalom give her a tie for 10th place in this event among women, alongside Hanni Wenzel (12). The record is 20 by Vreni Schneider.

Petra Vlhova finished third in Sölden and then third in the first of two races in Courchevel on December 12th. In the second Giant Slalom race in Courchevel she DNF. Vlhova has 18 World Cup race victories to her name, 11 in the Slalom, four in the Giant Slalom, and one each in three other events.

Federica Brignone leads the Giant Slalom World Cup standings, after finishing runner-up in both Sölden and the second race in Courchevel and fifth in the first race in Courchevel. Brignone has 15 World Cup race wins to her name, of which seven have come in the Giant Slalom.

Katharina Liensberger finished in the top six of the Giant Slalom in both Courchevel races this season after DNF in Sölden.

Tessa Worley has won 13 World Cup races, all in Giant Slalom. She finished on the podium (3) in the second race in Courchevel.

Sara Hector is the last woman representing Sweden to win a women's World Cup Giant Slalom race. She finished second in the first race in Courchevel.

Michelle Gisin finished fourth in Sölden and in the second race in Courchevel. She is hoping to claim her first World Cup podium in the Giant Slalom, after already having achieved this in the Slalom, Super-G, Downhill and Alpine combined.



In 2020, the Giant Slalom in Kranjska Gora was held on a very demanding icy and bumpy slope which made the race exciting and very tight.

With those conditions, Alice Robinson put together two solid runs with a few mistakes during the first run but almost perfect in the second and claimed her second victory of the season in the Giant Slalom of the 56th Golden Fox Trophy held at Kranjska Gora.

Robinson charmed the alpine world the year before when at the Season Finals in Soldeu Grandvalira she claimed a second-place finish, behind Shiffrin, after earning the qualification spot for the Finals as the Junior World Champion.

Robinson beat Petra Vlhova by 0.34 seconds, with Wendy Holdener of Switzerland and Meta Hrovat from Slovenia tied in the third position 1.59 seconds back.



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