Under the Kvitfjell Sun

Unlike the men's downhill, the women's downhill World Cup title will be decided only at the final. The last race in this discipline this season will take place tomorrow, March 21. In the second downhill training run, the World Cup leaders fighting for the trophy in the "royal" discipline - Laura Pirovano and Emma Aicher - were not pushing too hard, with both finishing outside the top ten. Norway's Marte Monsen was fastest today on Kvitfjell's spring piste. Another Norwegian, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, posted an almost identical time (+0.06). Germany's Kira Weidle-Winkelmann finished third, +0.40. In the downhill standings, Laura Pirovano (436 points) and Emma Aicher (408) are separated by just 28 points. Since only the top 15 receive points in the season finale, any mistake in Saturday's downhill could have a major impact on the final result.

For Aicher, the race in Kvitfjell, near Lillehammer, is also linked to the fight for the overall World Cup title. Her rival Mikaela Shiffrin, who leads the German by 140 points in the overall standings, announced as expected that she would not compete in the downhill. Mikaela expects to score enough World Cup points in the three remaining races - super-G, giant slalom and slalom. Emma Aicher will compete in all four disciplines.

"The fight for the Big Crystal Globe will continue right to the end, - Mikaela Shiffrin wrote, - and that is one of the reasons I love this sport so much."

Shiffrin noted with respect that her rival "represents the next generation in our sport. She is the only one competing in all four disciplines, and she has produced outstanding results in each of them. I am happy for her and eagerly look forward to the battle in Norway," Shiffrin wrote.

The women's downhill in Kvitfjell will start on Saturday, March 21, at 14:30 Moscow time.

Full results of the second downhill training run Photo: footage from the Eurosport television channel 16:23 20.03.26

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