Snow sports: Alice Robinson continues to impress on ski world cup circuit

Alice Robinson is new to the Super G event. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand skier Alice Robinson has finished 24th in her second World Cup Super G race of the season, a double header this weekend in the iconic Swiss ski resort of St Moritz.

The 20-year-old Queenstown skier couldn't improve on her impressive 20th in the season opening race in lake Louise in Canada on Monday (NZT) but her co-coach Chris Knight was thrilled with her performance in tricky conditions.

Robinson had drawn bib number 30 of the 56 starters in St Moritz and had to deal with poor visibility on the upper section of the course with light snow falling and the wind increasing.

The young Kiwi clocked 1:22.84 which was just over three seconds off the winner - Switzerland's reigning World Champion Lara Gut-Behrami - who stamped her class with a phenomenal run, clocking 1:19.82 to win the race by 0.18 of a second from Italy's Sofia Goggia, reversing the result from Lake Louise.

American great Michaela Shiffrin completed the podium, 1.18 seconds behind Gut-Behrami in what was her 200th World Cup race.

It was the first time on the race hill for Robinson who is still very much a rookie in the speed discipline, competing in just her eighth World Cup Super G race.

"It's a bloody good effort, flat light all the terrain and you can't see a thing out there and she's never raced the hill before. She's still in the top 30 and it's just her technique and skiing skills that got her to where she is." Knight told the Herald.

"You can't gauge it at all because the free skiing yesterday was just sliding down in the powder snow and then a quick inspection and off you go. It was a great effort, and it was like a training run for tomorrow's race which is another good thing and I think she's come through it really well." Knight said

Robinson's best result in Super G is a 10th last season and the young Kiwi has shown she has quickly come to grips with the discipline having also finished 21st last season.

Robinson lines up in another World Cup Super G at St Moritz tonight, 10:30pm NZT.

She races the fourth World Cup Super G of the season next weekend in Val d'lsere in France before turning her attention to her number one discipline Giant Slalom with back-to-back races in Courchevel in France before Christmas.

Robinson finished 11th in the opening World Cup Giant Slalom of the season in Solden in Austria in late October.

It's the first season that Robinson is competing in every World Cup Super G as well as GS, the event which shapes as her best chance to win a medal in at February's Winter Olympics in Beijing. She finished fourth in the discipline at this year's World Championships in Italy.