Weirather retains World Cup super-G title as Goggia wins
ARE, Sweden (AP) This was a bonus win for Sofia Goggia.
Having packed away the World Cup downhill title a day earlier, Goggia claimed victory in the final super-G of the season on Thursday.
Goggia dominated, finishing 0.32 seconds ahead of Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany.
Meanwhile, Tina Weirather successfully defended her discipline title.
''It's crazy because I wasn't even thinking about this race,'' Goggia said. ''After Korea (where she won Olympic downhill gold) I had made winning the downhill title my goal. So I was exhausted yesterday after achieving that.
''But today I felt good and I had hardly any problems on the way down, without any pressure whatsover,'' the Italian added. ''This just rounds things off.''
Also, Vincent Kriechmayr made it two wins in two days by taking the final men's super-G.
In a shortened race, the Austrian finished a narrow 0.04 seconds ahead of Christof Innerhofer, while Aksel Lund Svindal and Thomas Dressen tied for third, 0.08 behind.
Kjetil Jansrud, the Norwegian who had already clinched the season-long discipline title, finished sixth.
Lindsey Vonn was faster than Goggia at the first checkpoint but lost her balance briefly midway down and finished third, 0.53 behind.
''It's nice to close out the season with a podium in super-G and to end the season on a high note,'' said Vonn, who achieved only one other podium result in the discipline this season - a victory in Val d'Isere, France, in December.
Vonn's focus for next season will on breaking Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup wins. Her victory on Wednesday in the downhill was her 82nd.
''I'm four (wins) behind and I feel like I'm in a good place, picking up steam, confident and relatively healthy, so that will be my focus from here on out,'' Vonn said.
Weirather finished sixth, while Lara Gut, the only skier who had a chance of catching the skier from Lichtenstein, lost control early in her run.
Ester Ledecka, the surprise Olympic super-G champion, also went out early.
Weirather ended the season with an 86-point advantage over Gut. Anna Veith placed third, 122 points behind.
Weirather's second title adds to a large family haul that includes seven small crystal globes won by her mother, Hanni Wenzel, three for her uncle, Andreas Wenzel, and one by her father, Harti Weirather.
It was the fifth win of Goggia's World Cup career.
Attacking a course set by her coach Giovanni Rulfi, Goggia bowed to the crowd upon seeing her time in the finish area.
It was a sparse crowd, though, on a day when the temperature dipped to minus-17 degrees C (1 degree F).
''It was a pretty tricky super-G and I tried to ski smart,'' Goggia said. ''I told my coach, `Hey Gianluca, you put poetry on the slope today.'''
It was the third career victory for Kriechmayr, who tied with teammate Matthias Mayer to win the downhill on Wednesday.
Jansrud ended the season with an 80-point advantage over Kriechmayr. Svindal was third, 126 points behind.
''It's been a very good season. I started it off with a victory and managed to get on the podium in most of the other races,'' Jansrud said. ''But I'm very happy to have decided the result in Kvitfjell when I look at the results today.''
Counting four of Svindal's five titles and Jansrud's third, Norwegians have won the super-G globe for seven straight seasons.
''Seven times in a row is pretty insane,'' Jansrud said. ''If there's a secret I'm not going to say what it is.''
