Just days after the Olympic flame was extinguished, the women’s speed circuit roared back to life on the World Cup tour with a speed weekend in Soldeu, Andorra. With several Downhill and Super-G races still to come, the crystal globe races remain wide open, particularly in the absence of injured U.S. star Lindsey Vonn. Claiming victory in the first race of this weekend was Switzerland’s Corinne Suter. The 2022 Olympic downhill champion had been plagued in recent years with a series of injuries, so her return to the top of the podium was a welcome change. Rounding out the podium were Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.
Under unusually warm temperatures in Andorra, the Pyrenees sun softened the snow and raised early questions about how long the course would hold up. As it turned out, the podium would be decided almost immediately. Norway’s Marte Monsen opened the race with a time of 1:35.73, a solid benchmark but one that did not last long. Czechia’s Ester Ledecká, starting second, attacked the hill with far more speed and sliced nearly three seconds off Monsen’s mark, posting 1:32.89 to take a commanding early lead.
Austria’s Nina Ortlieb, in bib 3, raised the intensity further. Carrying impressive speed through the middle section, she crossed the line more than a second ahead of Ledecká, throwing down the gauntlet for Switzerland, but the rival nation responded with a decisive run by Corinne Suter, wearing bib 4. Skiing with characteristic composure, she edged Ortlieb by 0.11 seconds to seize the lead. It would prove to be the winning margin. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, in bib 6, came closest to disrupting the early order but slotted into third, 0.24 seconds behind Suter and just behind Ortlieb.
After just six racers, the podium was decided and no one came close to rattling the rankings, especially on the top section of the course, where Suter held the fastest split times until the very end of the day. Olympic downhill silver medalist Emma Aicher, starting 11th, skied into fourth place, just off the podium, while Olympic champion Breezy Johnson settled into fifth, 0.53 and 0.61 seconds, respectively, behind Suter.
Jacqui Wiles delivered another strong American result with an eighth place, 1.03 seconds off the lead. Teammates Allison Mollin (21st) and Keely Cashman (22nd) finished back-to-back, with Bella Wright and Mary Bocock just outside the points in 31st and 35th, respectively. Independent U.S. racer Haley Cutler suffered a heavy crash but quickly stood up and gave a reassuring thumbs up to the crowd, while Tricia Mangan also suffered a DNF.
For Suter, the win marks long-awaited redemption. The 31-year-old had not stood atop a World Cup podium since December 2022 in Lake Louise, Canada. Her Andorra triumph is the sixth World Cup victory of her career—and perhaps the most meaningful, as she has fought so hard for a comeback. In January 2024, Suter tore her ACL and injured her meniscus after landing heavily off the Delta jump in Cortina d’Ampezzo, just minutes after Mikaela Shiffrin’s own high-profile crash at the same venue. Since returning, she had reached the podium but not reclaimed victory—until today.
While the warm Pyrenean sun brought temperatures to the mid-40s and may have accelerated the course’s deterioration and favored the early starters, Suter’s performance left little doubt. She attacked when it mattered, capitalized on prime conditions, and forced every challenger to chase.
Behind her, the battle for the season-long downhill title tightened. With her fourth-place finish, Emma Aicher remains second in the standings behind Lindsey Vonn, trimming the gap to under 100 points—roughly the value of a single victory. With two Super-G races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the ranking in that discipline could certainly see a shake-up. Current leader Sofia Goggia is only ahead by 60 points, with New Zealand’s Alice Robinson on her heels. Lindsey Vonn in third is no longer in contention, leaving a gap for several athletes to slot into. It will certainly be an exciting speed weekend at Soldeu!
