Brilliant Marta Bassino beats Federica Brignone as Italians dominate opener

A fantastic performance from Marta Bassino saw her beat her compatriot and reigning world number one Federica Brignone to win the opening race of the 2020-21 World Cup season in Soelden.

Even in the first run Bassino and Brignone were streets ahead of the competition as the Italians dominated proceedings.

Aside from Brignone the only rider to finish less than a minute off Bassino was Norway’s Mina Fuerst Holtmann.

Brignone shone in the second run alongside another big name, Petra Vlhova, but neither could make up the gap to Bassino who took her second Giant Slalom World Cup win. Vlhova in particular will be upset that she lost so much time in the first run as she rose from tenth to finish third.

Sofia Goggia rounded off a brilliant day for the Italians by finishing sixth.

“I’m really happy, I was skiing very well in training so I tried to ski as in training today," she said.

“The first run I was really confident and it was easier. The second run was harder but I have it everything and I’m really happy.

“That’s fantastic [that skiing is back], finally the season starts and it’s amazing for the entire world."

Plenty of skiers found it difficult going on the second run with Wendy Holdener and Alice Robinson some of the bigger names who saw their time take a hit due to a costly slip. Robinson, who won this race last year, finished 12th.

In other news it was a fantastic day for the American team even in the absence of Mikaela Shiffrin.

Both Nina O’Brien and Paula Moltzan qualified for the second run after starting 40 and 62 respectively.

Moltzan then defied all expectations to secure a hugely impressive top ten finish.