Lara Gut-Behrami wins her sixth super-G globe in impressive style at the season finale and makes sporting history. And this despite the fact that a painful separation has been troubling her throughout the season.
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- Lara Gut-Behrami blows away the competition in the last super-G of the World Cup winter on Sunday, catching Federica Brignone and taking her sixth super-G globe.
- The skier from Ticino has always been ranked in the top 5 in her favorite discipline throughout the season - even though she has lost the joy of skiing in the meantime.
- The reason for this is the departure of her coach of many years, Alejo Hervas, who has been troubling the Ticino native for longer than expected.
Lara Gut-Behrami unleashes all her skills in the last super-G of the current World Cup winter. She outclassed the competition in Sun Valley by more than a second with a hussar ride, not only taking the day's victory, but also winning the discipline classification for the third time in a row.
Gut-Behrami's sixth super-G globe makes her the most successful athlete in history in this discipline. This winter, she has finished in the top 5 in every race - even though a broken agreement has caused her headaches throughout the season.
"I was empty in my head"
"The skiing was already there. But I was empty in my head. It had nothing to do with motivation, but with the joy of skiing," admits the Swiss in a Eurosport interview. The background: Gut-Behrami's fitness coach of many years, Alejo Hervas, was actually supposed to accompany the Ticino native until the end of her season. However, Hervas surprisingly moved to the Swiss men's team led by Marco Odermatt at the end of last season - and caught Gut-Behrami on the wrong foot.
"It was such a shame last year. I couldn't get over it. I was just sad and wanted to disappear, far away. It's difficult to digest. It's a miserable feeling when you win everything and still feel so lonely," says Gut-Behrami. "I knew it would take time. I didn't think it would take this long."
An angry crow
In the meantime, Gut-Behrami even asked herself the question of meaning. "I thought, if I win races again and feel so bad, why am I doing this to myself? That's been running around in my head all season," says the 33-year-old. It wasn't until the season finale that she finally managed to shake off these thoughts: "I was happy to race again. That's what I've been missing all winter."
Her father Pauli had told her that she was riding like a "corvo incazzato", an angry crow. "I thought to myself that I had to stop complaining about the situation. After all, I only have twelve months left. I have a wonderful family and it wouldn't be right to deprive ourselves of the opportunity to enjoy successes like this and instead dwell on the past," explains the 47-time World Cup winner.
If those aren't the best prerequisites for the last appearance of the season, which the super-G queen will be making in the giant slalom on Tuesday. The first run starts at 4.30 pm.
