Federica Brignone reflects on ‘crazy season’ after securing second overall World Cup title in Sun Valley
Published 22/03/2025 at 22:37 GMT
Federica Brignone claimed the second overall title of her career in Sun Valley following the cancellation of the downhill race. The Italian has been the queen of the slopes this season and is now aiming to win the super-G and giant slalom titles to add to her overall title and downhill success. This title comes after her success in the 2019/20 season, which was shortened due to the Covid pandemic.
Record-breaker Brignone reflects on ‘incredible’ World Cup title win - ‘Really crazy’
Video credit: TNT Sports
Federica Brignone reflected on a "crazy season" after claiming the overall World Cup crystal globe in Sun Valley on Saturday.
The 34-year-old secured the second overall title of her career - and became the oldest woman or man to do so - after the downhill race was cancelled due to wind.
Brignone is now 382 points clear of Lara Gut-Behrami in second, and cannot be caught by the Swiss skier with three races remaining this season.
She told TNT Sports: "It has been a crazy season for me; in every way it was going for me today, it was not cancelling what I did.
"But the global downhill was not something I was expecting before the season, and this is something really crazy.
"I have to thank Spard [Mauro Sbardellotto] a lot because he was my technician and believed in me, as well as my brother and team. This is something incredible."
Brignone is already the downhill champion, and has the chance to add the super-G and giant slalom titles to her trophy cabinet in the coming days.
Reflecting on the downhill success in more detail, she added: "When I actually got the red bib in Cortina, I thought that for once in my life, I would race downhill with the red bib. I thought it was the first and last time actually, and then in Garmisch-Partenkirchen I won [the downhill race].
"I was also there in Kvitfjell. I didn't lose so many points and I actually wanted to prove myself in La Thuile where I am in my home slope. It could have been a really good place for me, and then they cancelled it [the downhill race on March 13].
"I was going to try my best and then see what happened. This was the only goal today and I don't discount what I've done in downhill this year, it was amazing."
Brignone's focus will now go towards securing the super-G title, where she holds a five-point lead over familiar foe Gut-Behrami.
The attention then turns to the giant slalom, where New Zealand's Alice Robinson is the woman to beat and holds a 20-point lead at the top of the standings.
She continued: "I will play for another globe tomorrow and Tuesday, so there is still a lot of work to do, but it stays the same and I will try to make my best skiing and see what happens."
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