SOELDEN, Austria (AP) – Lara Gut got the defense of her overall World Cup title off to a shining start on Saturday.
The first women’s champion from Switzerland in more than two decades, Gut dominated the season-opening giant slalom on a sun-soaked Rettenbach glacier.
On an icy slope under crisp blue skies, Gut held on to her first-run lead to clinch a comfortable win, leading Mikaela Shiffrin by 1.44 seconds for her 19th career victory. The American also finished second here last year after winning the race in 2014.
“It’s a good start,” Gut said. “Soelden is always a special race. It’s very steep, it’s very difficult. You have to charge and not think too much. I had to fight against my head as I had been thinking too much in the past 24 hours. I don’t know why. Usually I just ski and enjoy what I am doing. I am the one who laughs.”
Gut said she thanked the men’s overall champion, Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, for giving her some useful advice.