Brilliant start to the 2023/24 Alpine Ski World Cup season

Before the race there was a lot of speculation about who would have the best chance at the season opener and discussions about who was pursuing which goals for the season. It's not for nothing that top favorite Mikaela Shiffrin stacked very low. During an interview with her partner Alexander Aamodt Kilde, she said that she wasn't ready yet, even if everyone else suspected otherwise. The Austrians' goal was to finish in the points and win, because they were obviously not very satisfied with the team's performance. Lara Gut started the race first. What her time was worth remained to be seen, but her ride was very dynamic. Starting number 2, the Swede Sara Hector, was already 0.23 seconds ahead of her. It surprised many that Mikaela Shiffrin fell behind Lara Gut, as she had been seen as the clear favorite. Franziska Gritsch from Team Austria wanted to put her words into action and ended up in 6th place after the first run. But Federica Brignone left them all standing with a brilliant first run and a gap of 0.50 seconds to Sara Hector and 0.73 seconds to Lara Gut. The second run was exciting until the end, because Federica Brignone had gained a clear lead. Sara Hector did not deliver in the second run and fell far short of her expectations, 1.33 seconds behind. Mikaela Shiffrin had an even worse time with the 25th best time in the second run, 1.38 seconds behind. Petra Vlhova and Lara Gut were able to impress with their best running times, as did the American Paula Moltzan. In the end, the leader of the first run, Federica Brignone, started, and the thrill of the run kept getting worse and then she caught up again until she crossed the finish line 0.75 seconds behind Lara Gut. That meant second place, 0.02 seconds behind Lara Gut, who won the women's Ski World Cup opener. Mikaela Shiffrin had to be content with a 6th place.