Nicol Delago performed well in training. © det

Nicol Delago shines and beams: she has the World Cup ticket!

On Wednesday, the second women's downhill training session was scheduled in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Nicol Delago from Wolkenstein was the radiant winner.

February 05rd 2025

From Saalbach-Hinterglemm

Nicol Delago felt a weight lifted from her shoulders on Wednesday morning. And if you listened carefully, you might have heard this weight even in Selva, her hometown, almost 300 kilometers away. After a few nerve-racking days, the 29-year-old has secured her ticket for the World Cup downhill on Saturday (11.30 a.m.), that's been confirmed since this morning!

On Wednesday, there was "only" a training session on the Zwölferkogel, but for some athletes this test run had the character of a race. Especially for Nicol Delago, who, along with Elena Curtoni and Marta Bassino, secured Italy's fourth World Championship starting place. Sofia Goggia, Federica Brignone and Laura Pirovano are already set for the race on Saturday, the other three fought for the last ticket.

Nicol Delago performed strongly. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

Delago had already made a statement on Tuesday in the first training session with 7th place. And on Wednesday she went one better. With starting number 1, the Val Gardena native conjured up a great time in the snow in glorious weather, which brought her to an outstanding 3rd place. Delago was only beaten by the Austrian Mirjam Puchner and the second-placed Breezy Johnson from the USA.

"I've been very tense the last few days." Nicol Delago

Favorites like Lara Gut-Behrami (4th), Corinne Suter (5th) and Sofia Goggia (11th) stayed behind the podium, but didn't put their foot on the gas either. But what was important for Delago was that she was able to leave her direct competitors Elena Curtoni (20th) and Marta Bassino (37th) far behind and was beaming as brightly as the sun after the training session. "I'm really glad that it worked out. I was very tense these days. I would have been sorry if I hadn't been able to ride here again," said Delago in a first statement to SportNews.

Here she raced onto the World Cup podium

The downhill course in Saalbach-Hinterglemm certainly suits Delago! Last season, she achieved her last podium finish in the World Cup with third place. So is she now expecting a place in the World Cup downhill on Saturday (from 3 a.m.)? "I'm not thinking about a placing right now. I want my performance to be good and I just want to enjoy skiing," said the 11.30-year-old, who walked out of the mixed zone in Saalbach-Hinterglemm with a big smile.

2. Women's downhill training