By Canadian Press

French skier Tessa Worley leads GS in Shiffrin’s absence

Dec 28, 2021 | 6:29 AM

LIENZ, Austria (AP) — French skier Tessa Worley posted the fastest time in the opening run of a women’s World Cup giant slalom Tuesday in the absence of Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin and world champion Lara Gut-Behrami.

Racing in flat lights on the Schlossberg course, Worley led Sara Hector of Sweden by .12 seconds. Six days ago, Hector won her first GS in seven years.

“The course setting was pretty slow and turny. You really needed to push a long time after the gate and really needed to find the speed wherever you could,” Worley said.

Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway was .29 behind and defending overall champion Petra Vlhova was .41 behind in fourth.

Alice Robinson of New Zealand, who returned after recovering from a coronavirus infection, was .45 behind in fifth.

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Italian speed specialist Sofia Goggia, who is Shiffrin’s main challenger for the overall title, had 1.58 to make up in the second leg.

Shiffrin announced Monday she had tested positive for COVID-19, ruling the American out of the GS and Wednesday’s slalom, the last two races of the calendar year.

The American won two of the previous three giant slaloms this season and led both the overall and the discipline standings.

Gut-Behrami completed a 10-day quarantine following her positive test on Dec. 17 but her tests kept coming back positive, the Swiss ski team said.

Race director Peter Gerdol and another FIS official were also missing the event following positive tests.

No spectators were allowed at the race in the Lienzer Dolomites amid tight anti-coronavirus measures in Austria.

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The Associated Press