Sofia Goggia clinches home win in Cortina d'Ampezzo downhill

The cheers from the home fans in attendance said it all.

Italy's downhill queen Sofia Goggia triumphed as the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour reached Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olimpia delle Tofane piste, despite struggling on an unfamiliar course set.

Goggia had not finished a race in Cortina since before the last Winter Olympics in PyeongChang four years ago, and with strong winds affecting the very top of the Tofane on Saturday (22 January), the start had additionally been moved down to the Duca d'Aosta.

The 29-year-old, who has already been named Italy's flagbearer for next month's Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, had one of the trickiest runs down the mountain as the wind picked up just as she left the start gate, causing blowing snow.

She momentarily lost control of her skis which went sideways before the first timing check, and also had a wild jump in the middle sector of the course in addition to running wide and losing her racing line multiple times.

Indeed, after she had crossed the line in 1 minute 6.98 seconds, the Italian looked more than surprised to find herself in the lead.

"It was really tough, I knew I had to push as hard as I could because the start with the first section is not my best part," Goggia said afterwards.

"It was so windy, I couldn't see the surface while going down and I had the gates against me. I made really a lot of mistakes but I wanted to cross the finish line and dive into the love of the supporters. I haven't raced here in Cortina since four years [ago] and it's so good to be back. I did an incredible run, a bit strange lines, but I'm really happy.

"Winning today in these conditions, it fulfils me. But I know I still have to work a lot because I haven't been skiing that good lately and I will use the next downhill to refocus and recuperate myself in order to get to China with a clear mind."

Austria's Ramona Siebenhofer, a double downhill winner the last time the World Cup visited Cortina in 2019, came in second place having started third in the race and set the early marker to beat.

Her time was 0.2 seconds behind Goggia's.

For a while, it looked like Corinne Suter, last year's world champion on this piste, would complete the podium.

It appeared that the shortened track, coupled with a flatter start at the top and bumpy snow conditions, would slow the subsequent starters – and most of them did struggle.

But the Czech skier Ester Ledecka, the 2018 Super-G Olympic champion, produced an impressive run starting 17th to displace Switzerland's Suter, finishing in 1:07.24 to complete the podium.

With the results, Goggia remains in the women's downhill red bib, with four wins from her five downhill races this season. Siebenhofer moves up to second, overtaking Breezy Johnson as the American did not compete after crashing in training.

Goggia also closes to within 160 points of second-placed Petra Vlhova on the overall World Cup leaderboard.