Krol takes her maiden win, Baumeister back in yellow in Simonhoehe

In the women’s competition Aleksandra Krol (POL) came with an impressive performance, upsetting all the favourites and eliminating one big name after another to claim her very first World Cup victory. 13 years since her World Cup debut in 2008, and with only two top-3 finishes up to this point in her career, Krol was simply unbeatable on the day despite facing some tough competition in her heats. Krol edged out the likes of Jessica Seiser (SUI), Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) and Melanie Hochreiter (GER) on her way to big final, where she faced Julia Dujmovits (AUT).

After finishing on the podium in both competitions in Bad Gastein (AUT) earlier this week, it was Dujmovits who came into the big final matchup as the favourite to win Friday’s competition on home soil. But as in the previous rounds, also in the big final Krol just took off straight from the start and quickly gained substantial advantage over Austrian rider. And while Dujmovits did her best to close the gap, she risked it too much in the middle section, lost her balance and missed the gate. That left Krol with an easy task of bringing the victory down to the finish line, what the 31-year-old did, wrapping up an exciting women’s event with the biggest achievement of her career.

Second place on Friday was Dujmovits’ third consecutive spot in the World Cup top-3 and with her recent form the Austrian veteran is slowly emerging as one of the athletes who should contend for medals at the upcoming Games.

Sofiya Nadyrshina (RUS) and Melanie Hochreiter (GER) finished in ex aequo third place, after the duo crossed the finish line of the women’s small final matchup with the exact same times.

In the PGS World Cup ranking Nadyrshina still leads the way, now with 291 points and with only one PGS event in Rogla left in 2021/22, the Russian rider is one step closer to claim her first World Cup crystal globe.

Second in the standing is Daniela Ulbling (AUT) with 237 points, while Ladina Jenny (SUI) sits in third place with 222 points.