Tessa Worley wins 2nd straight giant slalom as Mikaela Shiffrin loses lead

SESTRIERE, Italy – Tessa Worley won her second straight World Cup giant slalom Saturday after first-run leader Mikaela Shiffrin struggled in her second trip down the 2006 Turin Olympics course.

Charging after placing third in the opening run, Worley captured her 10th career giant slalom win to match the French record set by Carole Merle between 1988 and 1993.

Worley finished 0.15 seconds ahead of rising Italian skier Sofia Goggia and 0.29 in front of defending overall World Cup champion Lara Gut of Switzerland.

“It’s a tough day to win,” said Worley, the GS world champion in 2013. “Those girls are fighting hard and I try to fight a bit harder.”

It was a memorable day for the French team with Alexis Pinturault winning a men’s GS on home snow in Val d’Isere.

Worley also won a GS in Killington, Vermont, two weeks ago.

Shiffrin, the American who won the slalom at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, lost a big chunk of time early in her second run after getting thrown off course and finished sixth.

Shiffrin’s lead over Gut in the overall standings was cut to eight points, although she’ll be the favorite in a slalom on Sunday on the Giovanni Agnelli course.

Goggia is third overall, 51 points back.

It was Goggia’s fourth podium result in six races – and three different disciplines – this season.

Goggia made serious mistakes in each run but her attacking style kept her in contention and kept the partisan crowd on its feet.

Conditions were perfect, with the race held under clear, sunny skies and the snow hard and icy.

A surprise came from Simone Wild, a 23-year-old Swiss racer, who placed seventh with the No. 27 bib.

The women’s World Cup circuit had not stopped in Sestriere since 2008.

Julia Mancuso won the GS on the Agnelli course during the 2006 Olympics. “The slope is pretty technical. It’s pretty complete,” Worley said.