With neither injured Lindsey Vonn nor Mikaela Shiffrin starting a World Cup downhill on Friday, Emma Aicher seized her chance to cut the American superstars’ leads in the season-long standings. Aicher, the Olympic downhill silver medalist, placed second – just 0.01 behind first-time winner Laura Pirovano, pushing Olympic champion Breezy Johnson down to third – and reduced Vonn’s lead in the downhill points race to just 14 with two races left. Vonn’s hugely successful World Cup season at age 41 was ended by a nasty crash one month ago at the Milan Cortina Olympics that wrecked her left leg. Aicher’s 80 World Cup points Friday also reduced Shiffrin’s lead in the overall standings to 139 ahead of another downhill scheduled Saturday. The final downhill will take place at the World Cup finals in Kvitfjell, Norway, on 21 March.

Source: The Guardian March 06, 2026 16:13 UTC