Nina Ortlieb wins Kvitfjell super-G in stunning fashion as Mikaela Shiffrin waits to match Ingemar Stenmark

Updated 05/03/2023 at 13:50 GMT

Nina Ortlieb was victorious in the controversial super-G race at Kvitfjell in Norway, as the fluctuating weather conditions played a huge part in determining the podium positions. Ortlieb recorded just her second World Cup victory after racing once the blizzard-like conditions had eased, while previous race leader Sofia Goggia had to ski with heavy snowfall, describing it as "criminal."

'There's disbelief!' - Ortlieb stuns everyone by taking super-G win in Kvitfjell

Nina Ortlieb won the World Cup super-G on Kvitfjell, finishing at the top of a podium completed by all Austrian skiers for the first time in any alpine discipline since 2009.

Ortlieb’s time of 1:29.25 was enough to claim only her second-ever World Cup victory, while Stephanie Venier and Franziska Gritsch finished 0.12 and 0.38 seconds further back respectively, in what was the first all-Austrian super-G podium since 2005.

Meanwhile, there was to be no eagerly-anticipated World Cup victory for Mikaela Shiffrin, who could have equalled Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86 wins in Norway.

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'Unbelievable!' - Ortlieb reacts to 'lucky' win in Kvitfjell super-G

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05/03/2023 at 11:50

Asked to sum up her emotions afterwards, Ortlieb said: "Unbelievable.

"I knew at the start that the conditions were getting better and better. I was lucky. I'm sure that it was not fair for everyone.

"But I got the opportunity and I think I skied well, and I'm happy that I'm here today.

"When I went up in the chair lift, I thought 'wow, it's snowing a lot'. Right before the start I thought 'it's getting less'.

"I had the TV break in front of me so I thought 'oh, bad timing today, snow fall and TV break'.

"I thought then I have to ski even better. It was fun and a little crazy to see the green light in the finish."

The race began in blizzard-like conditions with a frigid temperature of -8 degrees celsius at the top of course, adding an extremely challenging element to the race, which ultimately proved costly for Shiffrin and those with the top 20 bib numbers.

There were genuine concerns that the race could be abandoned after Alice Robinson lost her balance and collided with the safety netting, as course workers cleared away the excess snow.

Jasmine Flury of Switzerland was bib no.1 and led the way going into the first break with a time of 1:30.13, but was gazumped by Sofia Goggia at bib no.16, with the Italian masterfully managing the tricky conditions to propel herself into the lead with a time of 1:29.94.

There are incredibly fine margins in skiing, and that was the case again with only 0.58 seconds separating the top 10 skiers going into the second break.

A total of 30 racers needed to complete the course the race to be official, which looked to be in the balance after another interruption came in when Valerie Grenier registered a DNF.

'Unbelievable!' - Ortlieb reacts to 'lucky' win in Kvitfjell super-G

Nevertheless, the action continued and Goggia nervously watched on with her time coming under increasing threat.

Speaking after her run, as the snow eased, she said: “I'm happy with my performance because I really showed up; I was attacking the conditions, which were really tough.

“The race has changed. I'm sorry because we came down with criminal conditions and now there is the sun and everything is really fast.”

'It's criminal!' - Goggia not happy after conditions dramatically change for later racers

Her exasperation was clear to see when Gritsch of Austria leapfrogged her into top spot with a time of 1:29.63 - 0.31 seconds ahead of the Italian, and a first-ever World Cup victory looked possible.

'Goodness me!' - Shiffrin comes agonisingly close to Stenmark record in Kvitfjell super-G

That lead did not last long though, and it was Gritsch’s compatriot Venier that moved in front, 0.26 seconds clear at the top, what ultimately proved decisive.

The conditions improved considerably as the race edged closer to its crescendo, as Ortlieb moved top and the prospect of an all-Austrian podium became a reality.

The weather started to deteriorate again as the final skiers raced down the course, and nobody could significantly challenge that Austrian top three.

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