The women’s speed event of Kvitfjell organized two weeks after the recent Saalbach 2025 FIS World Championships promises very exciting competitions as a group of top champions will be fighting hard during those three days for World Cup points and glory in occasion of the two downhill and the Super-G races scheduled on the Olympic course of the 1994 Winter Games.
While specialists like USA’s Breezy Johnson wish to confirm as soon as possible her recent gold medal triumph in Austria with a possible first victory on the World Cup tour after scoring seven podium finished in a year between December 2020 and 2021, Sofia Goggia, considered as the best downhiller since her Olympic win in China back in 2018, seeks for revenge after losing two years ago by only 29/100 of a second to Norway’s darling Kajsa Lie the first women’s downhill race at Kvitfjell since the 2003 Finals ! Sofia also strongly aims to clinch another downhill globe at the end of the season!
Very thrilling too the duel between Italy’s overall World Cup leader Federica Brignone, a winner here in Super-G a year ago, and Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami for various crystal globes with only five races left before the Finals at Sun Valley, USA, after the Kvitfjell event.190 points separated them in the overall standings, with Federica leading ahead of Lara with her 999 points.
The Swiss, who is the defending overall World Cup champion, also excelled here last winter, capturing the first of the two Super-G races. After a difficult season-start following some health problems, Lara is now moving again at her best level as proved late January with her Super-G victory at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Slalom expert Camille Zrinka Ljutic is already far behind with 753 points.
It’s clear that the three Kvitfjell traces may again play a pivotal role in the battle for the big crystal globe as it was also the case in March 2024.
In a way it’s quite curious to see that those two veterans – the Italian will turn 35 in July and the Swiss 34 in April – are the main contenders for the big crystal globe this season. The two experienced champions excel in downhill, Super-G and in giant slalom. During their long career they accumulated great victories on the circuit – 46 for Lara Gut-Behrami and 34 for Federica Brignone including the eight she celebrated in recent months.
It’s also remarkable that the two champions are receiving strong support from their family, Lara being helped since her younger ages by her dad Paul while Federica, the daughter of a world class slalom skier in the 1980s, Maria Rosa Quario, is advised since 2017 by her brother Davide following her crucial giant slalom victory at San Vigilio, situated in northern part of the country.
Not long after that important success, Davide became Federica’s personal coach helping her to consistently improve her technical level and her mental approach! Step by step he guided her to soon become one of the most successful champions of the Italian women’s team with a total of over thirty wins on the Alpine World Cup tour and the satisfaction to become the first ever Italian winner of the women's overall World Cup title in March 2020. Earlier this month, Federica captured the gold medal in giant slalom two years after clinching the FIS title in combined at Meribel.
This winter, Federica excels in several specialties, even in downhill! It’s a great satisfaction for her considering the fact that she only “discovered” the speed disciplines in the last part of her career. In recent weeks, Federica showed that she is not slowing down her pace after becoming the “oldest” winner in women’s World Cup competitions – and at Saalbach 2025!
After her two training runs at Kvitfjell, Federica could not hide her pleasure to enjoy a great time in Norway after the recent stressful races – and she feels ready to fully give once again her best. “The conditions are excellent for me, I like this kind of snow and I’m looking forward to chieve some exciting races here," she told the press.
Despite being a year younger than Federica, Lara Gut-Behrami already showed her great potential in December 2007 reaching at only 16 her maiden World Cup podium in a downhill at St. Moritz, finishing 3rd despite a crash near the finish line. A year later she celebrated her maiden triumph on the circuit in a Super-G, again at St.Moritz – before clinching two silver medals at the 2009 FIS World Championships at Val d’Isère, beaten only by USA’s star Lindsey Vonn.
In the following years, Lara collected the most prestigious awards and victories despite several painful injuries which dramatically slowed down her pace. In March 2016, she claimed her first overall World Cup globe – a feat she brilliantly repeated last winter. Her last four seasons were amazing as she got two gold medals at the FIS Worlds at Cortina d’Ampezzo, beating Mikaela Shiffrin in giant slalom by only 2/100 of a second.
At the 2022 Olympics in China, she finally obtained a sparkling gold medal in Super-G! She was not lucky in February 2023 at Meribel, leaving the French resort without any medal- yet she bounced back in 2024 with her outstanding second overall title!
The Swiss, who is married since July 2018 to a former football player -Valon Behrami -, plans as Brignone to end her career next year after the Olympics at Cortina d’Ampezzo where she wishes to invite her entire family.
Their battle will greatly contribute to creating an exciting end of the season!
Patrick S. Lang
