Tessa Worley
Last season, Tessa Worley won the giant slalom discipline crystal globe as the first French woman to win a crystal globe since Carole Montillet-Carles in 2003 (super-G). She became the fourth French woman to claim the giant slalom crystal globe after Carole Merle, Francoise Macchi and Michele Jacot. Of these women, only Merle managed to win on multiple occasions with her victories in 1992 and 1993. Worley can become the third woman in 14 seasons to retain her giant slalom title after Viktoria Rebensburg (2011, 2012) and Anna Veith (2014, 2015). Worley has won 11 World Cup giant slalom races, joint-ninth all-time among women. She could join Hanni Wenzel in eighth place with 12 wins. Worley can become the first French woman to win a World Cup race in Sölden. Régine Cavagnoud (third in 2001), Sophie Lefranc-Duvillard (second in 1993) and Merle (third in 1993) are the only French women to finish on the podium in the Austrian ski resort (all giant slalom).
Prediction: Tessa Worley to win the race
Odds: 3.94 Pinnacle, 3.00 Bet365 – 1 unit
Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin won 11 World Cup races last season of which three were in giant slalom. She finished second in the giant slalom standings behind Tessa Worley. Shiffrin has won 31 career World Cup races, joint-ninth all-time among women alongside Erika Hess. Her four wins in the giant slalom only trail Tamara McKinney’s nine wins in this discipline among U.S. women. Lindsey Vonn has also won four World Cup giant slalom races. Shiffrin won the Sölden giant slalom race in 2014 and finished as runner-up to Frederica Brignone in 2015 and to Lara Gut in 2016 in the Austrian ski resort. She could join Tina Maze (3), Andrine Flemmen, Lara Gut and Martina Ertl-Renz(all 2) as the only women with multiple wins in Sölden. Only Kathrin Zettel (5) and Anja Pärson (4) have claimed more podiums among women in the Austrian ski resort than Shiffrin(3). The 2014 Sölden win marked Shiffrin’s first World Cup victory in giant slalom. She shared the victory with Anna Veith.
Prediction: Mikaela Shiffrin podium finish(top 3)
Odds: 1.50 Bet365 – 1 unit
Sofia Goggia
Italian women swept the podium in the last World Cup giant slalom race, in Aspen. Federica Brignone won the race ahead of Sofia Goggia (second) and Marta Bassino (third). Brignone is the only Italian woman to win a giant slalom race in the previous nine World Cup seasons. She won in Aspen (2017), Kronplatz (2017) and Sölden (2015). However, Brignone announced that she will not compete in Sölden this season, citing a minor injury. Goggia (4 podiums) and Bassino (3) have claimed multiple podium finishes in this discipline (all in 2016/17), but have yet to win a giant slalom race. The total of 11 podium finishes for Italy last season marked a record for the country in a single season in ladies’ giant slalom (10 in 2007/08). Sofia Goggia has won two World Cup races in her career, the super-G and downhill in Jeongseon in 2017. Among Italians, only Compagnoni and Brignone achieved to win in three different World Cup disciplines in their career.
Prediction: Sofia Goggia podium finish(top 3)
Odds: 2.00 Bet365 – 1 unit
Also, check out our Womens Alpine Skiing 2017/18 betting preview and predictions.
