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Pirovano in 'seventh heaven' after first World Cup victory
Italian skier Laura Pirovano vowed to "savour this victory" after finally claiming her first World Cup win on Friday in the first of two downhills on home snow in Val di Fassa.
The 28-year-old, who is in her ninth season on the circuit, edged out Emma Aicher by just 0.01 seconds, while Olympic and world champion Breezy Johnson had to make do with third, 0.29 seconds off the pace.
"I'm in seventh heaven," said Pirovano.
"I felt that I was skiing well, I felt good on this course.
"I still need to take it all in, because this is new for me."
Pirovano has been among the most consistent downhill performers without previously reaching the podium.
This season, she had scored three World Cup top-five finishes, including fourth place in the downhill at Zauchensee, Austria in early January, her best result ever on the circuit until Friday.
"I'm going to savour this victory, even though it breaks my heart for Emma, but for once the hundredths are on my side," said Pirovano who finished fifth in the super-G and sixth in the downhill at the Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
"I've often finished fourth, fifth or sixth, and I couldn't really say what went best today.
"It's really incredible, everyone seemed happy for me. Lots of skiers told me 'Finally, you've won,'" she added.
If one Italian was all smiles, another was not: Olympic bronze medallist Sofia Goggia, who was hoping to get back into the race for the downhill crystal globe, finished down in 16th.
Johnson was also off her best but the American was still able to crack a smile.
"I didn't have good sensations, just like in training," she said. "I felt like a giraffe on skates."
American Lindsey Vonn, who suffered a set of fractures in her left leg in a horror crash at the 2026 Olympics that ended her season and likely her career, remains top of the downhill World Cup standings with 400 points.
But with two downhill races remaining, German Aicher is just 14 points behind the American on 386 with Pirovano on 336. Goggia has dropped to seventh with 255 points.
Mikaela Shiffrin, who does not compete in speed events, is still in charge of the overall World Cup standings with 1,133 points although Aicher has closed the gap to 139 points.
This downhill was originally scheduled for Crans-Montana in Switzerland at the end of January, but was called off due to bad weather conditions.
A second downhill is scheduled for Saturday on the Volata in Val di Fassa, followed by a super-G on Sunday.
The final downhill will take place at the World Cup finals in Kvitfjell, Norway on March 21.
G.Jozwiak--GL
