(Reuters) – French Alpine skier Nils Allegre achieved an unexpected victory in the World Cup super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday, marking his first podium finish after eight years of trying. The 30-year-old’s previous best results were two fourth-place finishes, one of which was in a super-G event at the German resort’s Kandahar piste in 2021.
“What happened? I don’t know,” said Allegre, who started with bib number 18 in his 102nd World Cup race. “I had a very good feeling on the salty snow,” he added about the soft piste injected with water and salt. “I know my skis are one of the best in these conditions.”
Continuing the surprises, Italian Guglielmo Bosca finished second and 0.18 seconds slower for his first World Cup podium in an injury-hit career that began in 2016. Switzerland’s Loic Meillard placed third and overall World Cup leader and countryman Marco Odermatt finished fourth, ending his streak of 12 successive super-G podiums but extending his lead in the discipline’s standings.
In the women’s event, Norwegian skier Ragnhild Mowinckel celebrated her first downhill World Cup win in the Italian resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo. U.S. skier Jacqueline Wiles took second place, 0.35 seconds behind Mowinckel, marking her first podium finish since 2018. Italian skier Sofia Goggia finished third.
“This is absolutely crazy. It has been a long time coming with a lot of injuries over the last five or six years,” said Wiles, whose compatriot and overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin was absent after falling in Friday’s race. U.S. skier Isabella Wright also crashed on Saturday, causing a delay in the race, which was also affected by strong winds.
The piste is the same one that will host the women’s downhill at Italy’s Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
