Goggia wins Kvitfjell Super G to lift the Crystal Globe

Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic) was never going to cautiously back her way into a Crystal Globe.

Instead, the Italian speed queen skied the only way she knows how, dominating Sunday's Super G at the World Cup finals in Kvitfjell to leave no doubt that she deserved her first season title in the discipline.

Skiing in her trademark aggressive style on a downhillers' Super G course, Goggia won her third Super G race of the season ahead of Corinne Suter (SUI/Head, +0.32s) and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann (GER/Rossignol, +0.60s).

"If you want to be a complete speed skier, you have to get both the globes in Downhill and Super G, and today I finally did it and I can say I'm a little bit more complete," four-time Downhill globe winner Goggia said.

"I had a really good consistency this year in Super G, so I think this cup is super well deserved."

Entering the race with a 63-point lead in the Super G standings over Alice Robinson (NZL/Salomon), Goggia needed only to finish sixth or higher to guarantee the globe.

After a slightly nervous start that included twice skiing wide of the ideal racing line, however, the 33-year-old turned it in the mid-section to take a commanding lead with bib No.8.

Knowing the globe was virtually secure, an emotional Goggia put her head in her hands and was in tears in the finish area.

"When you have pressure, you have to handle it, so I'm happy for the outcome," she said in explaining her emotion.

Goggia's only mathematical challenger for the globe entering the race, Robinson, started three skiers later, couldn't match Goggia in the mid-section and ultimately finished 16th on the day and second in the standings.

"It's definitely been a big step from 17th last year (in the Super G standings) to second this year," Robinson said.

"For sure I've still got some areas I still need to work on to be a fully rounded Super G skier. There's a lot to be proud of but still a lot to do."

Goggia, by contrast, has reached the top of her Super G game.

After previously finishing in the top three in the discipline standings only once, she was the standout performer this season, recording three victories, two other podiums and top-10 finishes in all eight races.

On Sunday, the three-time Olympic Downhill medallist took advantage of an open and fast Super G course set by one of the Italian coaches to set a blistering time that would not be beaten.

With Weidle-Winkelmann having already skied and set the early pace, only Suter, with bib No.19, seriously challenged Goggia thereafter.

The Swiss Downhill specialist held the green light at all four intermediate splits, but lost over half a second to Goggia in the closeout to finish second after missing the podium in sixth place in Saturday's Downhill.

"After yesterday I was a little bit disappointed because I did a little mistake, so I tried to ski as fast as I can today," Suter said.

"I watched Kira and she was skiing so, so well, so I tried to do the same."

Suter's late podium charge pushed Weidle-Winkelmann to third, but she nevertheless celebrated her first World Cup Super G podium, with all nine of her previous top-three finishes coming in Downhill.

"It was a good run for me," Weidle-Winkelmann said. "We knew that the surface is not too hard, with spring snow and wet conditions. But my goal was to really let the skis run and to ski a bit clever on the key points, which I did."

Weidle-Winkelmann looked set to share the podium with teammate Emma Aicher (GER/Head), but Suter's run pushed Aicher into fourth.

However, the German all-rounder's 50-point score helped her secure third place in the Super G standings and close the gap on Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic) in the race for the Overall Crystal Globe.

Shiffrin skied only her third World Cup Super G since December 2023 on Sunday, but finished 22nd, resulting in her Overall lead over Aicher being reduced to 45 points with two races remaining — a slalom and a giant slalom.

"I try to not think about it," Aicher said about the chase for the big globe. "I'm going to focus on my skiing and we'll see what happens."

While the women's season will reach an exciting conclusion mid-week, one skier whose journey has already finished is Ilka Stuhec (SLO/Kaestle), who concluded her stellar career by finishing 18th in her final World Cup race on Sunday.

Stuhec, the 2017 and 2019 Downhill world champion, was treated to a celebration in the finish area after she crossed the line, including being sprayed with champagne.

Later, the champagne also flowed for Goggia as part of the latest Italian women's Alpine skiing celebration.

On the back of Federica Brignone's (ITA/Rossignol) double Olympic gold, and Laura Pirovano (ITA/Head) winning the Downhill globe on Saturday, Goggia had a simple explanation for why the Italians are doing so well at the moment.

"Because we are Italians," she said.

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