Italy's Federica Brignone laid down a near-faultless first run to lead standings in the women's giant slalom at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Thursday, as American Mikaela Shiffrin opted out of defending her title.
The 34-year-old Italian, a GS silver medallist at the last worlds in Courchevel/Meribel in 2023 and also in 2011, as well as the 2022 Beijing Olympics, clocked a leading time of 1min 10.44sec down the Schneekristall course.
Just six racers got within 2sec of Brignone's time, the Italian bidding to become Italy's first women's GS world champion since Deborah Compagnoni won back-to-back titles in 1996/97.
"It went smoothly, I was always on the edge and forcing it," said Brignone, who wears a helmet decorated with a tiger's head that is shown in full when she dips her head as she prepares to exit the start hut.
"What made the difference is I went really early in the final dip. The last part I was not tired so I could push. It was amazing. I did not expect gaps like this!
"The second run will be bumpy and at a world champs it's never so good to be in front as there is a lot of stress," said Brignone, already winner of super-G silver in Saalbach.
There was heartbreak for Brignone's teammates, however, both Sofia Goggia and Marta Bassino skiing out.
Shiffrin had announced her withdrawal from the GS on Monday, citing symptoms like post-traumatic stress disorder related to an abdominal puncture wound she sustained in a nasty crash early in the season.
It left her, she said, with a mental block on racing the giant slalom.
Shiffrin did, however, compete in the slalom section of Tuesday's team combined, winning a record-equalling 15th world medal as she and Breezy Johnson took gold.
After Brignone's electric first leg, New Zealand's Alice Robinson was second fastest, at 0.67sec, with American Paula Moltzan third (+1.24).
"I was surprised by the gap between myself and Federica, and the course will only get worse as it is so warm," said Robinson.
"The first leg was weird, I was going from no grip on the snow to a lot of grip, the course was not very easy."
In the absence of Shiffrin, Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami is the only other world championship GS gold medallist in the field, having won in Cortina D'Ampezzo in 2021.
She came down fourth fastest in Saalbach, at 1.40sec, just three-hundredths ahead of Sweden's Sara Hector, the reigning Olympic GS champion who has yet to win an individual world championship medal in 14 attempts.
Any medal in the GS would lift Gut-Behrami, 33, into fifth place on all the list of all-time women's world championship medal winners.
She currently has nine medals (three golds, three silver, three bronze), including the team combined gold she won on Tuesday.
The second run is scheduled for 1200GMT, with the starting order dependant on results from the first run: the skier placed 30th will start, with Brignone the leader running last.
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