Johnson Fourth in Second Val di Fassa Downhill
On the final downhill race of the regular season FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Breezy Johnson led the way for the U.S. team in fourth. Teammate Jackie Wiles had another strong day to finish 15th on the demanding track in Val di Fassa, Italy.
Johnson, who landed on the podium in Friday’s downhill, once again showed strong form, skiing aggressively and narrowly missing the podium. Since it was the second day on the same track the women had to risk it all to find more speed and move up from the day prior. This resulted in a very tight podium race. Nonetheless, her fourth-place result capped off a successful weekend and continued her momentum as the speed season heads toward the World Cup Finals.
“It was a little bit scrappy,” said Johnson. “I felt like I left it all out there and did my best. The field right now is very competitive as shown by the multitude of different winners. So I think I've been very consistent through all of that.”
Wiles backed up her solid performance from the first downhill with another points-scoring run. Charging down the course she kept the pressure on through the technical middle section to finish 15th, adding another consistent result to her season in the downhill.
“I was happy with most my run, but had a couple mistakes that were too costly,” said Wiles. “I'm really excited about the year I've had. I am ready to end it on a high note in Norway.”
Teammates Bella Wright, Allison Mollin and Haley Cutler also landed in the points in 20th, 21st and 28th. Keely Cashman was 37th. Tricia Mangan and Mary Bocock did not finish but are OK.
The winner of the race once again was Italian Laura Pirovano who won by a mere hundredth. In second was Cornelia Huetter with Swiss skier Corinne Suter in third.
The final super-G of the season is Sunday also in Val di Fassa.
RESULTS
women's downhill
