Pirovano Completes Stunning Sweep To Claim Downhill Crystal Globe

Laura Pirovano collapsed to the snow in tears of joy at the finish of the Olympiabakken course on Saturday. It was, by any measure, the right reaction. The 28-year-old Italian had just done something almost no one saw coming — winning the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals downhill and, with it, the season-long downhill Crystal Globe.

Until earlier this month, Pirovano had never finished on a World Cup podium in 124 races. On Saturday, she stood atop the sport.

Pirovano topped the field with a winning time of 1:30.85, beating American Breezy Johnson by 0.15 seconds, with Germany's Kira Weidle-Winkelmann finishing 0.25 seconds back in third.

Starting with bib 14 and knowing exactly what she needed, Pirovano built her run from the bottom up. She did not have the Media early speed of her rivals, but as the course unfolded, she found another level — setting the best times through the final sections of Olympiabakken and carrying speed and strength through to the finish.

"I just tried to ski my best and not think too much," Pirovano said. "I knew I didn't have the fastest start, but I trusted my skiing and pushed all the way to the bottom." The sense of delirious disbelief was prevalent all day for the Italian.

“I felt not so good skiing down there today,” Pirovano explained. “When I crossed the finish line I was afraid to watch my time and to watch the position, I have to say. I waited a little bit and then I thought ‘OK, now I can watch’ and when I saw the green light I said, ‘No, it’s unbelievable’.”

The globe itself left her almost speechless. "I didn't even dream about it, it was something too big. To win a World Cup race yes, but to win this baby here, no, it was too much for me and that's why it was unbelievable."

The story of how Pirovano got here is one of the most remarkable in recent World Cup history. Before her victory at Val di Fassa two weeks ago, Pirovano had never reached the podium at the World Cup level. She won there, then won again the next day on the same course, and then completed the hat-trick in Norway — three races in a row to secure the discipline Crystal Globe.

Pirovano took to the piste knowing she would seal the downhill title if she beat Emma Aicher's time. She did even better, taking the race lead with a daring run to cap a remarkable finish to the campaign.

She ends the season with 536 downhill points, 83 clear of second-placed Aicher who said ""I am happy with the season and I am proud of myself for being here, fighting for a Globe. Of course I am disappointed but Lolli (Pirovano) won the last three Downhills and she deserves it, so it’s all good."

When asked to explain her sudden transformation into the world's best downhiller, Pirovano was at a loss. "I don't know, truly. Skiing the other races of the season, the feeling was the same. I don't know what's happening, honestly,"she said.

Breezy Johnson, the reigning Olympic and World downhill champion, gave Pirovano the sternest of tests. The American was strong from the start, building speed through the upper sections and setting the tone early, but could not match Pirovano's strength through the final sectors. It would have been Johnson's first-ever World Cup victory, and she will know she came agonisingly close.

Weidle-Winkelmann set the early pace from bib six before being knocked off the top spot by Johnson, but the German ultimately held on for her spot on the podium — her best result of the season. '“I think Emma helped me a lot," Weidle-Winkelmann said. "She is just coming to the speed side and is like ‘Oh, let’s go and have some fun and just ski’. For me, that was the key this year, to enjoy skiing more, to enjoy the competition and to be on top and fight against the best racers in the world and have fun in this process."

The downhill globe had looked destined for a very different recipient for much of the season. Lindsey Vonn dominated the first half of the season with two wins and three more podiums from the first five downhills, taking a commanding lead in the discipline standings. But a horror crash at the Milano-Cortina Olympics — where her right shoulder hit a gate while airborne, resulting in a crash that broke her left leg and required her to be airlifted to hospital — ended her season and opened the door for others.

Saturday's race had a subplot in the overall standings too. Emma Aicher, Pirovano's closest rival for the downhill globe, finished fifth — managing to accrue 45 crucial points on overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin ahead of Sunday's super-G, trimming Shiffrin's lead to 95 points with three races remaining. Shiffrin did not contest Saturday's downhill.

For now, though, the spotlight belongs entirely to Laura Pirovano — a skier who went from never having stood on a World Cup podium to Crystal Globe champion in the space of three breathtaking weeks.