Worley wows in Kronplatz giant slalom

Tessa Worley (FRA) earned her first Audi FIS World Cup victory since 2018 today in Kronplatz (ITA), topping the field in the giant slalom.

Worley sat in fifth place after the first run, but turned in the second fastest time of all racers in the second win to earn the victory by 0.27 seconds ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI).

Since her last giant slalom victory, which came at the opening of the 2018 season in Soelden, Worley has always been in the hunt for the victory, with six podiums to her credit. This season, it has been a battle to top the field with Marta Bassino (ITA) emerging as the dominant force. But today it was Worley who earned the bragging rights as Bassino had to settle for third place0.73 seconds behind.

Gut-Behrami extended her podium streak to three-straight as she has landed in the top-three in three different disciplines just four days apart, an impressive feat for the Swiss star. She was second in the Crans Montana downhill, first in the super-G there, in addition to today’s runner-up finish.

Bassino still has a clear and dominant lead in the giant slalom season standings, with 460 points, well ahead of Worley with 336 points and Michelle Gisin (SUI) with 312. For her part, Gisin missed a massive opportunity today to close the gap further. She sat in first place at the end of the first run, and was ahead until the last interval, where she lost her tempo, getting bumped down to sixth place.

The women’s tour now moves onto Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the last World Cup stop before the FIS World Ski Championships, which kick off at the start of February in Cortina.