Shiffrin falls; Rebensburg wins WCup giant slalom

Overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin had an uncharacteristic fall in the first run, clearing the way for Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany to claim her third giant slalom win of the season in San Vigilio di Marebbe, Italy.

Sitting third after the opening leg, Rebensburg had the fastest second run to finish 0.03 seconds ahead of first-run leader Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway. Defending champion Federica Brignone of Italy finished third, 0.66 behind.

Shiffrin lost control of her inside ski coming around a turn as she entered the steepest section of a slope named Erta, which translates as steep. Shiffrin slid a long way down the course but immediately got up and was not injured.

After missing a gate on Sunday in a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, it marked the first time in more than six years that Shiffrin failed to finish two consecutive races. rival, Henrik Kristoffersen, had snowballs thrown at him by spectators during his final run in Schladming, Austria.

None of the projectiles hit Kristoffersen but the Norwegian seemed furious as he reacted with wild arm gestures after crossing the finish.

Hirscher, the Austrian sixtime overall champion, built on his first-run lead to beat Kristoffersen by 0.39 seconds. The two were far ahead of the field as third-place Daniel Yule of Switzerland was 2.13 seconds behind.

Hirscher got his ninth win of the season and 54th overall, matching Austrian great Hermann Maier’s career total.