French giant slalom specialist Tessa Worley finally returned to the Women’s World Cup Podium after 11 months and won the final race of the calendar year on Tuesday in the absence of Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin and world champion Lara Gut-Behrami.
Six days ago, the two-time world champion missed her first top-three finish since January on the local snow by eight hundredths of a second.
“I really wanted to,” Worley said. “I was so close to the Podium in Courchevel. That’s really cool.”
Worley raced in flat lights on the Schlossberg course and maintained her lead in the first set to beat defending champion Petra Vlhova by three-tenths of a second.
Sara Hector of Sweden, who was second after the opening race, had two costly mistakes in their last race and fell to third place.38 behind Worley.
Italian speed specialist Sofia Goggia, Shiffrin’s main challenger for the overall title, took 1.72 in 12th, reducing her deficit to 93 points. The American also remained at the top of the GS standings and led Hector by 18 points.
Shiffrin announced on Monday that she had tested positive for recent times and that she had excluded the American from the GS and Slalom on Wednesday, the last two races of the calendar year.
“As far as the World Cup is concerned, we’re just taking it day by day,” Shiffrin said in a statement from the U.S. ski team.
“Of course, it’s a blow for the points and chances there, but if we have learned something this Season, anything can happen.”
The American won the world title three times and missed the chance to win a fourth consecutive championship after interrupting her Season — while leading — after the passed away of her father Jeff Shiffrin in February. Last season she competed only in slalom and giant slalom.
“I’m just focused on improving and racing as fast as I can,” Shiffrin said. “I can’t worry too much about the globes and headlines when it’s all happening with recent times.”
Gut-Behrami underwent a 10-day quarantine after testing positive on Dec. 17 but their tests still came back positive, the Swiss Ski Team said.
Race director Peter Gerdol and another FIS official were also not found after testing positive.
After Vreni Schneider (20 years old) and Annemarie Moser-Pröll (16 years old), Worley is the third skier to win at least 15 giant slalom victories.
“It was mainly about pushing every curve,” Worley said. “I know a lot of girls ski pretty fast in GS. I know it’s always difficult. I’m just happy to be one of those skiers.”
The victory was only Worley’s second in the last three years, although she has been in the Top 10 in each of her last 11 World Cup giant slalom events.
“Today the skiing was really fun, the track was perfect and I enjoyed the challenge of being in front in the first race. I feel like I can trust my skiing and I’m really happy with it,” Worley said.
It was the third consecutive podium for Hector, who last week won his first GS for seven years.
“I caught a bump at the top of the hill, which was difficult,” Hector says. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but the fast skiing in between.”
Two elite runners who had passed previous events with recent times infections returned on Tuesday: Alice Robinson of New Zealand finished fifth after the opening race, but missed a goal just before her second race, and Slalom world champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria finished 25th.
During the race in the Lienz Dolomites, no spectators were allowed into Austria due to strict Anti-recent times measures.