Federica Brignone had zero World Cup downhill wins in her stellar career. Lindsey Vonn had a record 43. Malorie Blanc had never even started a World Cup downhill.
In an instant classic Saturday, Brignone started closing the gap with her debut downhill win at age 34 before ski great Vonn was hugely impressive racing into fifth place in her first downhill for six years – at age 40 and now with a titanium knee. The drama was not over.
Wearing low-ranked bib No. 46 in just the second race of her World Cup career, Swiss prospect Blanc stunningly had the fastest time at the final checkpoint before finishing just 0.07 seconds behind Brignone. Vonn was pushed down into sixth. Italian star Brignone looked shocked, sitting in the course-side leader´s box, by the world junior championships silver medalist´s performance before celebrating with a determined smile. Three generations of downhill racers had served up a compelling race for the ages. Brignone, the 2020 World Cup overall champion and a five-time runner-up in downhills, finally stepped up to the top step of the podium in a sun-splashed race.