Ski World Cup. Tessa Worley wins the opening giant in Sölden

The Grand-Bornand skier could not dream of a better start for her season.

Tessa Worley won on Saturday the opening giant of the Alpine Ski World Cup, taking her first win in Sölden (Austria), the thirteenth of her career.

Third in the first run, the French finally outshot the Italian Federica Brignone by 35 hundredths and the American Mikaela Shiffrin, Olympic champion in title, 94 hundredths.

Worley, 29, set the fastest time of the second run, allowing her to go back 40 percent faster than Brignone after the first act.

The Haut-Savoyarde, double champion of the world of the specialty (2013/2017), managed to tame the track of the glacier of Rettenbach (at 3,000 m of altitude) for a first victory in Sölden, after a 2nd place the year last behind the German Viktoria Rebensburg, defending champion of the giant globe and only 4th Saturday.

Worley has also adapted to complicated weather conditions. The track prepared with snow stored since last year, because of the heat of October in Austria, was saturated with heavy fog on Saturday and marked by continuous snowfall since the morning.

Both runs have been shortened for this reason. Not a problem for Worley who ideally launches his season to the reconquest of the giant globe (first in 2017, second in 2018).