Brignone triumphs in Sestriere giant slalom; Shiffrin returns to competition

Italy’s Federica Brignone, 34, claimed victory in the women’s World Cup giant slalom on home snow in Sestriere on Friday. Meanwhile, American skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin, 29, made her return to the discipline, finishing 25th in her first race back since a crash last November in Killington, Vermont.

Shiffrin skipped the giant slalom at the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, saying she didn’t feel mentally ready to compete. She’s still aiming for her milestone 100th World Cup victory but is recovering from an abdominal puncture sustained during her fall in Vermont.

“This season, my goal is just to fight for points — basically to stay in the top 30 in GS,” Shiffrin told Eurosport. “It’s a big shift from recent years when I was always chasing podiums, but that’s OK. Today was about collecting points, and I did.”

She added that simply starting Friday’s race was a significant milestone. “It might not seem like much when you’re used to competing for top finishes, but it’s a huge step from not racing at all,” she said.

Brignone, nicknamed the “Snow Tiger,” earned her 33rd career World Cup win — and 15th in giant slalom — despite having recently battled illness. “I felt better yesterday, and I believed I could put together two strong runs today — and that’s what I did,” she said.

With this win, Brignone moves to the top of the overall World Cup standings, leading by 170 points. New Zealand’s Alice Robinson, who didn’t finish her first run in Sestriere, remains ahead in the giant slalom standings, holding a 39-point lead over Sweden’s Sara Hector, while Brignone sits third.