Shiffrin second in Killington GS

KILLINGTON, Vt. — Mikaela Shiffrin had a roaring crowd in her corner, possibly the biggest to watch a women’s World Cup race.

But it was not enough to

WORLD CUP SKIING

overcome Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg and a mistake early in the American’s run in a stirring duel yesterday on Killington’s aptly named Superstar trail. Rebensburg won her second straight World Cup giant slalom by edging Shiffrin, the overall points leader who was skiing in the state where she attended school.

Rebensburg finished two runs in 1 minute, 57.63 seconds, with Shiffrin 0.67 back. Manuela Moelgg of Italy held on for third, 1.49 seconds off the lead.

The race took place before about 18,000 fans — organizers believe it the largest crowd for a women’s World Cup race.

Moelgg had been third after the first run and went into the lead with a strong run. Then Shiffrin took her turn. She is a product of Burke Mountain Academy and was greeted with thunderous cheers as she left the gate. The noise followed her all the way down the course. She had a great run and wound up ahead of Moelgg. But the day belonged to Vebensburg.

“This was a step in the right direction,” Shiffrin said, adding she felt more confident at Killington. “I felt like I made some good turns.”

Racing continues today with the women’s slalom. Shiffrin won the slalom at Killington last year.