She's back: Federica Brignone is back in action at Kronplatz. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Brignone's comeback at Kronplatz was met with great amazement.

Federica Brignone celebrated her World Cup comeback on Tuesday at Kronplatz! In the first run, the skier from Aosta surprised the ski world with a remarkable performance. The final run starts at 1:30 pm.

20 January 2026

From: det

The return of Federica Brignone was the talk of the town at Kronplatz in the last few hours. 292 days after her brutal crash – in which she broke her tibia and tore her cruciate ligament – ​​Brignone was back in the World Cup starting gate. And the overall World Cup champion promptly caused a stir: After a solid run, "Fede" finished in 7th place in the first run.

It was impressive how Brignone carved down the Erta. While a certain caution was still noticeable in her turns, which is perfectly understandable after such a difficult time, the 35-year-old nevertheless showed that with only twelve days of skiing under her belt, she can already compete at the very top.

Brignone checking out the slopes. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

“Today I am simply happy,” Brignone said in RAI-Interview. “At the start I was so nervous, I could hardly breathe. It only got better after the first split time. I don’t want to be so tense in the second run,” she explained later in an ORF interview.

+++ The second race starts at 1:30 pm +++

At the halfway point, Brignone is 1,18 seconds behind leader Sara Hector, who is aiming for her second victory on the Erta. Behind her are Switzerland's Camille Rast (+0,15 seconds) and the leader of the Giant Slalom World Cup, Julia Scheib (+0,39/Austria).

Sara Hector leads the field. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Brignone, in her comeback race, is the best Italian in 7th place at the halfway point, which is also quite an achievement. Lara Della Mea follows in 10th place, and Asja Zenere is in 12th. Sofia Goggia, meanwhile, slipped during her run and did not finish. The young skier from Völs, Anna Trocker, missed the second run. However, for the 17-year-old, who competed in her third World Cup race today, it's a valuable experience.