Aicher finishes second in the downhill, freeing Vonn and Shiffrin at the top of the World Cup standings

VAL DI FASSA, Italy (AP) — With neither an injured Lindsey Vonn nor Mikaela Shiffrin starting a World Cup downhill run Friday, Emma Aicher seized the opportunity to cut into the American superstars’ lead in the season standings.

Aicher, the Olympic downhill silver medalist, placed second — just 0.01 behind first-time winner Laura Pirovano, pushing Olympic champion Breezy Johnson to third — and cut Vonn’s lead in the downhill points race to just 14 with two races remaining.

Announcement

Vonn’s highly successful World Cup season at age 41 ended with a nasty crash a month ago at the Milan Cortina Olympics that destroyed her left leg.

Aicher’s 80 World Cup points on Friday also cut Shiffrin’s lead in the overall standings to 139 ahead of another downhill event on Saturday.

The tight race for the giant crystal globe trophy with eight races remaining could see Shiffrin make a rare start on a super-G Sunday. Chasing the sixth overall World Cup title of his career. Shiffrin has accumulated all of her points in slalom and giant slalom so far.

Friday’s race was a replacement for the downhill race five weeks ago in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, which was abandoned after Vonn fell and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

Announcement

Pirovano was a popular winner on home snow taking her first win, also a first podium, in her 125th World Cup start.

The 28-year-old Italian has been a model of consistency achieving top 10 results this season and sixth place in the Olympic downhill in nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo.

An elusive first victory brought Pirovano to third place in the downhill rankings, 64 behind Vonn and 50 behind Aicher.

Pirovano was among the few runners to exceed 130 km/h (81 mph) on a sunny, calm and freezing day, ideal for the speed discipline.

Two former Olympic champions dropped out of the competition after losing time on the lower half of the 2.3-kilometer (1 2/5-mile) course.

Announcement

Corinne Suter, a gold medalist at the 2022 Olympics, looked set to match her win last weekend in Soldeu, Andorra, but placed eighth, 0.49 behind Pirovano.

Sofia Goggia, the 2018 champion and bronze medalist in Cortina last month, was 0.90 in 17th place.

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing