Goggia came out of the gate slowly and was the 26th fastest — out of 31 racers who finished — in the first timed interval. But Goggia quickly settled into a confident, aggressive stance on her skis, which she repeatedly pressured for more and more speed. By the third interval, Goggia was fifth fastest in the field.

As it turned out, she was just finding her rhythm. By smoothly linking her turns and occasionally taking a more rounded approach to the gates, Goggia kept the flat bases of her skis on the snow surface for longer stretches. The payoff was the fastest time in each of the three final timed intervals.

When Vonn followed two skiers later, she was faster at the start but less fluid in the middle section. Her skis seemed on edge and rattling more often than Goggia’s, and after a bit of a miscue coming off the third jump in the course, Vonn trailed Goggia by nearly a half-second. She did not make up the time.

“I was maybe a little too precise with my line but it was a clean run,” Vonn said later. “Maybe I should have let the skis run a little more.