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Swiss skier Camille Rast claimed her first career World Cup giant slalom victory on Saturday and then dedicated her victory to the victims of the Crans-Montana bar fire.
Rast tapped the black mourning band on her left shoulder twice after completing her final run, beating second-place Julia Scheib of Austria by two tenths in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
“There was a tragic accident in my hometown this week and my thoughts are with those families. We're racing for them this weekend,” Rust said in an on-track interview.
The Swiss skier took her first win of the season, finishing her second run with a score of 58.71.
Rast was born in Vetroz, a village about 40 kilometers from Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais.
A fire in a crowded bar in a Swiss ski resort during New Year's celebrations killed 40 people and injured more than 100.
Crans-Montana will host the Women's World Speed Cup on January 30-31 and the men's Speed Cup on February 1, the last competition before the Winter Olympics in Cortina in Milan.
Paula Molzahn finished third, 0.47 back, the American's second podium finish of the season. Teammate Mikaela Shiffrin was just over a second behind in fifth place.
Val Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., finished ninth, 2.05 seconds back.
Valerie Grenier of St. Isidore, Ont., finishes ninth overall in the women's giant slalom at the Alpine Ski World Cup in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Nina O'Brien's eighth-place finish and Elizabeth Bocock's 14th-place finish, matching her career-best GS finish in Sweden in March 2023, capped a strong showing for the US Ski Team.
Scheib extended her lead in the GS standings as her closest rival, New Zealander Alice Robinson, retired in the first run for the second race in a row, this time on a course set by her coach Niels Koberger.
A slalom on the same hill is scheduled for Sunday, with live coverage available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. There will be no men's World Cup racing this weekend.
Watch the deciding race of the World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
