Shiffrin agrees with Gut-Behrami whiners: “Lara deserves it 1000 percent”

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Lara Gut-Behrami (32) wins the overall World Cup. Almost no one doubts that anymore. She is 282 points ahead of Federica Brignone (33, It) for the World Cup final in Saalbach (Austria). And because it is unlikely that the fiery Milanese will repeat her slalom tour of Sunday (27th place) in Saalbach (Austria), the two skiing veterans still have three races to go. That means: Brignone should win almost every race and Gut-Behrami should be eliminated everywhere.

That will not happen. And yet, for some time now, there have been complainers in the comment columns of various online platforms claiming, “Without Shiffrin and Goggia’s injuries, Gut-Behrami would never win the big crystal ball!” Blick asks Shiffrin, who celebrates her 29th birthday on Wednesday. After her fantastic comeback win in Are (Sd), she said: “It’s not very nice when people say things like that. Lara is having an incredible season, her skiing is sensational. Lara 1000 percent deserves to be where she is now.” In other words: on the ski throne.

Gut-Behrami: 66.2 points per race

The numbers support Shiffrin’s statement. Gut-Behrami won eight races this winter – more than ever before in a season. There are also eight podium places. Your average points per competition? 66.2 points. For comparison: Shiffrin scored more on average last winter (71.2), but scored “only” 63.3 points in her final victory at the World Cup in 2017/18. And Vlhova? In 2020/21, 45.67 points per race were enough to be sworn in as ski queen.

Shiffrin admits she struggled after the injury she suffered during the chaos races in Cortina (Italy). No wonder: at the end of January she was 420 points ahead of Gut-Behrami, but now she is 345 points behind. Her big goal of winning the overall World Cup for the sixth time is long gone; she has missed too many races for that. “The train has left. But we don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t been injured. Maybe Lara would have won that way too. I think Lara has raised the standard of our sport to a new level this winter.”

Staying healthy is also a quality

German slalom pope Felix Neureuther (39) is also enthusiastic about Gut-Behrami. In Blick’s “Ski Talk” he says: “If you win the overall World Cup, it’s never cheap. Certainly, Shiffrin would have been the measure of all things without her failure. But I take my hat off to Lara. How she has developed her skiing technique, how smart she skis – that is amazing.” At almost 33 years old, mastering a program with three disciplines (giant slalom, super-G and downhill) is not easy in terms of training management, says Neureuther. “Lara does it extremely smart.”

Everything indicates that Gut-Behrami will win the overall World Cup for the second time after 2016 this Sunday. How much does this ball mean to her? “I’ll only say that when the time comes,” she says.

For Shiffrin it is clear: Gut-Behrami more than deserves it. “Every piece of the puzzle is important in skiing. This also includes staying healthy. And also to always have the necessary energy.”

The 96-time World Cup winner said she knows exactly how challenging it is to achieve consistently good results all winter long. «Winning is not easy. Neither on one race day, nor over the entire season.”

Of course it was difficult to take a break. At the same time, she enjoyed watching athletes like Lara on TV. Shiffrin’s conclusion: “I really hope no one will say Lara won the big ball only because of my failure.”

Source : Blick