Nov 30 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Alice Robinson said she was in disbelief after claiming her fifth World Cup win in the women’s giant slalom at Copper Mountain on Saturday, becoming the first woman outside Europe or North America to achieve the milestone.
The 23-year-old, who led after the first run, held her nerve in the second run to claim her 18th World Cup podium in front of a noisy American crowd.
With the win in Colorado, Robinson broke a tie with compatriot Claudia Riegler to become the most successful women’s Alpine ski racer from outside Europe or North America.
“I didn’t know that, but that is pretty cool,” Robinson told the website of FIS, the governing body for international skiing and snowboarding, following the event.
“It’s always really special for me to represent New Zealand, especially in a sport like ski racing that’s so dominated by North America and Europe, so I’m really proud of that.”
Robinson said she did not realise she had finished first, after almost losing her balance early on in the second run.
“Honestly, it was complete disbelief – I thought I blew it with the mistakes,” she said.
The Copper Mountain event continues on Sunday with the women’s slalom. The circuit moves to Mont-Tremblant, Canada, next month.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
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