dIn a dramatic finale, Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami lost the absolute victory in the downhill World Cup classification and, with it, the long-awaited fourth crystal ball of the season. The 32-year-old finished 17th in the downhill race in Saalbach-Hinterglemm on Saturday and was behind Cornelia Hütter in the discipline's standings. The Austrian achieved a victory at home and obtained the first crystal ball of her career.

“I didn't expect everything to turn out well,” says Hütter. ZDF after his surprising hit. In the end she showed great emotions and also shed some tears. “I felt completely overwhelmed,” the 31-year-old said.

Weidle in eighth place

Gut-Behrami had previously won the overall World Cup and the qualifications for the giant slalom and super G disciplines. She almost became the first athlete since American Mikaela Shiffrin in 2019 to win one large and three small crystal balls in one winter.

Hütter took the lead with a fantastic race and his sixth World Cup victory and eventually won the downhill classification with a lead of 28 points.

The Slovenian Ilka Stuhec came second ahead of the Italian Nicol Delago. The only German owner, Kira WeidleHe finished an unsatisfactory season with eighth place.

It was only his third top ten finish in the major alpine discipline this winter; The change in wind prevented a better result. “It was actually a good trip, it's a shame if time decides,” he told ZDF. Before the next season he wants to “turn over every stone” and will face the next winter with a new name: she will get married in the summer.