Mikaela Shiffrin pipped by Petra Vlhova in rainy World Cup slalom at Courchevel
Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova used a frenetic final run to edge out Mikaela Shiffrin and earn her 30th career win in tough conditions at a women’s World Cup slalom at Courchevel on Thursday.
Racing in the rain, Vlhova trailed the American by 0.17 seconds after the opening run but posted the fastest second-run time to lead the race.
Shiffrin, as the last starter, lost time on Vlhova at each split and ultimately came up 0.24 short.
“I am feeling great, with big confidence,” Vlhova said. “The last races, I was always there but something was missing. This victory is really important. I know that I can be fast, and today I showed.”
The rest of the field finished more than two seconds off the pace. Austrian skiers Katharina Truppe and Katharina Gallhuber were third and fourth, respectively, and Shiffrin’s American teammate Paula Moltzan dropped from fourth after the first run to fifth, 2.64 behind Vlhova.
It was Vlhova’s 21st career win in a slalom, giving her fourth position on the all-time winners list. Only Shiffrin (55), Marlies Schild (35) and Vreni
Schneider (34) have won more slaloms.
The result marked the 23rd time in women’s World Cup history that Shiffrin and Vlhova finished 1-2 in a slalom, with the American winning on 10 occasions.
“It’s really good for our sport, because I think we are pushing each other. We are maybe putting our skiing to higher levels,” Vlhova said.
Earlier Thursday, Shiffrin and Vlhova defied the conditions to set up yet another duel for victory, as they left the field behind at more than a second off the American’s lead.
“Yeah, it’s tough. You see a big gap, that’s because there’s not much to push on,” Shiffrin said about the weakened surface of the Stade E. Allais course.
Shiffrin, coming off a rare DNF in Sunday’s super-G in nearby Val d’Isere, opened the race and avoided major mistakes on a difficult course set by Vlhova’s coach Mauro Pini.
The Slovakian, who started second, was faster than Shiffrin in three of the four sections, but had a costly mistake in the second where she lost 0.47 on the American.
“I felt very good at my skiing, but it was a huge advantage to start number one. It’s quite challenging conditions,” Shiffrin said.
Vlhova won the first slalom this season and Shiffrin the next two, including the race in Killington, Vermont, in November.
Last January, Lena Duerr became the last skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova to win a World Cup slalom. On Thursday, the German had the thirdfastest time at the first check point in the opening run before straddling a gate.
Shiffrin extended her lead in the overall standings, now leading Federica Brignone by 143 points. The Italian, who won Sunday’s super-G, rarely competes in slalom and sat out Thursday’s race.
The next World Cup races are a GS and slalom in Lienz, Austria, next Thursday and Friday.