Shiffrin tops Worley for second GS victory
semmering, austria» A few days after Mikaela Shiffrin spent Christmas at Manuela Moelgg’s home in Italy and trained with her, the American and the Italian finished first and third in a women’s World Cup giant slalom on Tuesday.
Shiffrin held on to her first-run lead on the icy Panorama course to beat Tessa Worley of France by 0.78 seconds. The result ended Shiffrin’s 26month wait for a second GS win after celebrating her maiden triumph in the opening race of the 2014-15 season.
Moelgg came in 1.09 back in third for the Italian’s first podium in nearly six years.
“She and her family were inviting for Christmas. It made it feel more like home for us,” said Shiffrin, adding “it’s so special” that Moelgg also made the top three — for the first time since placing third at a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, in January 2011.
“We have been training at her home,” Shiffrin said. “We really only had Christmas Day off. But it was OK, I had a restful day. And sometimes it is like when you take a break, then your body says, ‘Oh, it’s a break,’ and then you get sick. I tried to fight that off but I feel good right now. My energy is good.”
Shiffrin’s 24th career win extended her overall lead to 55 points over defending champion Lara Gut of Switzerland, who finished Tuesday’s race in fourth.
At the previous GS in Sestriere two weeks ago, Shiffrin also held a firstrun lead but dropped to sixth after a disappointing final run. It made her skip the speed races in Val d’Isere, France, the following week in order to put in extra GS training.
The sessions with Moelgg at Kronplatz, which will host a World Cup GS in January, have paid off.
Shiffrin has won Olympic gold, two world championships and three World Cup season titles in her favorite discipline.
Worley was only sixth after the opening run, 0.80 seconds behind Shiffrin. She hardly won time on the American in the final run and missed out on her third straight GS win after triumphing in Killington, Vermont, and Sestriere over the last few weeks.
“I am happy because in the first run I lost time on the top section,” Worley said. “In the second run I was just attacking the whole way down.”
Jansrud stays perfect in super-G
B santa caterina valfurva, italy» Olympic champion Kjetil Jansrud extended his perfect start to the season in super-G, winning a World Cup race by a comfortable margin.
Jansrud became only the second man to win the first three super-G races of the season.
Jansrud finished 0.60 seconds ahead of Hannes Reichelt of Austria and 0.65 in front of Dominik Paris of Italy. It was the 18th win of Jansrud’s World Cup career, matching him with Lasse Kjus for third place among Norwegian men.