“Surfing instead of skiing”: Brignone breaks her taboo

Federica Brignone broke a major taboo of her career at the World Cup in St. Anton am Arlberg – and landed a severe blow against rival Lara Gut-Behrami in the overall World Cup. She continues to make fun of her age.

11 January 2025

From: never

Federica Brignone jumped up from her chair, clenched her right fist and threw her arms around her brother's neck. The Swiss rider Malorie Blanc had just sensationally made it onto the podium with starting number 46, and in the third sector she was even eight hundredths of a second ahead. In the end, however, there was no way to get past the old champion from Lombardy, a lead of seven hundredths gave her the 30th World Cup victory of her careerThe relief was great – also because she was breaking a taboo.

“Winning the downhill... I never thought about it,” Brignone said in an interview with Rai2 an insight. The 34-year-old had already triumphed in the Super-G, giant slalom and combination, and after seven podium places in the downhill, she now greeted from the top in the supreme discipline for the first time.

Age? Brignone is currently living

Perfection is not always a must on the way to victory; all too often, in the battle for hundredths of a second, perseverance and decision-making on the slopes are the deciding factors. "It wasn't easy in these conditions," explained Brignone in the official winner's interview. "It felt more like surfing than skiing." The right combination of aggression and flexibility ultimately gave her the best time.

Brignone was unstoppable in the descent. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

But no matter how hard the 2023 combined world champion tries, there is one topic she cannot avoid at the moment. Perhaps simply because of her brilliance. With her success in St. Anton, she not only broke the record of the oldest winner in the World Cup for the third time, but also moved past Lindsey Vonn in the downhill in this ranking. The American skied to a strong sixth place on Saturday in her first downhill since January 2019. "That's enough now, I'm no longer the oldest," she laughed in view of the impressive return of her 40-year-old competitor.

Brignone dreams of the overall World Cup

Brignone is gradually becoming aware of her great successes. "I have achieved more than I ever dreamed of," she enthused. But the Azzurra's hunger is far from satiated. The focus is of course on winning the big crystal globe, the second coup after her triumph in the 2019/20 season. She is currently in fourth place in the overall ranking with 419 points, 37 points behind the Croatian leader Zrinka Ljutic. In the Super-G on Sunday (11.15 a.m.) she could take the lead - and deal her competitor Lara Gut-Behrami another serious blow.

“It’s important to take one race at a time.” Lara Gut-Bahrami

Due to her compatriot Blanc's sensational podium finish, Gut-Behrami even slipped to 13th place in the downhill, and in the overall World Cup she is already 90 points behind Brignone. So far, however, only 13 of 35 races have been completed, and the Swiss is not yet thinking about the big crystal globe. "It is important to tackle one race at a time. So many things are happening, as you can see since the start of the season," the 33-year-old explained in an interview with Rai2Two ski veterans cross swords – and make fun of old age.