Ester Ledecká Tops Women's World Cup Downhill Training in Andorra Debut

Ester Ledecká of Czechia dominated the second women's World Cup downhill training on Andorra's Àliga slope at Grandvalira's El Tarter, clocking the fastest time of 1:33.39 on Friday. She finished ahead of Italy's Nicol Delago by 0.37 seconds and Sofia Goggia by 0.43 seconds. Germany's Emma Aicher, second in the downhill standings, placed 38th, while compatriot Kira Weidle Winkelmann was 10th. Andorra's Jordina Caminal, wearing bib 52, ended 45th, 4.17 seconds behind the leader—matching her position from Thursday's opener.

The session capped two days of training ahead of the races, with around 60 skiers from 15 nations taking part Thursday and organisers expecting up to 66 for the competitions: downhill on Friday at 11am, followed by super-G events Saturday and Sunday at 10.15am. Speeds exceeded 117 km/h in the first session on the 2.4km course, which drops 751m at an average 28% gradient and features the Gall jump midway and the emblematic Curvone turn lower down.

This marks Andorra's first women's World Cup, shifted from a cancelled Zauchensee super-G on 11 January and slotted into a three-training schedule without issues. The slope benefited from heavy snowfalls, grooming since November, prior Snow Control approval, and early humidity that built a solid base. Race director Santi López praised the compact, homogeneous surface with ideal hardness for speed and safety, noting satisfaction after pre-event checks. "The track is in very good condition," he said.

Goggia, super-G standings leader with 280 points ahead of New Zealand's Alice Robinson (220), called the snow compact and perfect, adding that the first training helps understand the piste, the second improves technique, and the race demands full effort. Federica Brignone, 35-year-old Olympic super-G and giant slalom champion recovering from injury, finished 17th Thursday at 1.58 seconds off pace and described Àliga as one of her favourites with excellent conditions.

Caminal, 22 and Andorra's lone entrant after Cande Moreno's Olympic crash, expressed comfort despite errors in the opener. "The piste is incredible and great fun—the organisation has done outstanding work," she said, aiming to refine her lines Friday.

Lindsey Vonn's knee ligament injury from Crans-Montana and Cortina absences tops the downhill table with 400 points, 144 clear of Aicher (third is Weidle Winkelmann on 232, then Laura Pirovano on 207). With around 300 points left in the season finale, contenders including Ledecká, Romane Miradoli, and Cornelia Hutter could shake up Crystal Globe races. Event secretary Marc Mitjana underscored the step up from last season's men's Europa Cup, with a quadrupled budget funding ticketing, a welcome village, expanded zones, and more. He called for a men's World Cup as the ultimate goal, while valuing FIS recognition on the women's circuit.