All downhill for Swiss women

Germany's Hide Gerg won the women's downhill world cup race in Saalbach-Hinterglemm Keystone

Switzerland's women skiers were unable to do much better than the men on Saturday, with only Sylviane Berthod managing to make the top ten at the World Cup downhill race in Saalbach.

Berthod finished the Austrian event in ninth position, her worst placing of the season, after crossing the line more than a second behind victorious German Hilde Gerg.

Gerg’s win was her second in two days, with the 26-year-old having also won Friday’s downhill in the same resort. The Austrian team celebrated another strong set of performances with Renate Götschl, Michaela Dorfmeister and Brigitte Obermoser taking second, third and fourth place respectively.

In the early stages of Saturday’s race Berthod had looked like being a contender for the podium. One minute into her race, the Swiss skier found herself just a tenth of a second off the pace set by Gerg.

However a dramatic mistake saw Berthod misjudge a bump at high speed. Flailing with one ski in midair, the Swiss star managed to recover but lost more than a second in the process.

Fellow Swiss skier Corinne Rey-Bellet also suffered her worst showing of the winter, finishing 12th with a time more than a second and a half slower than Gerg’s. Rey-Bellet later claimed her concentration had been broken when the race was held up for repairs to a broken gate.

Catherine Borghi and Ella Alpiger completed a miserable day for the Swiss women’s team, coming in 26th and 44th respectively.

swissinfo with agencies