GEPA / Gintare Karpaviciute
It has been said many times, but the day belongs to Mikaela Shiffrin. She destroys the field and again shows the world she is not done being the best. It is her 93rd career World Cup victory, her 56th in slalom, and her 5th of the season. She ends the day with a (-2.34) advantage over second-place German Lena Duerr.
Shiffrin pushes the other women to do more than they can, causing mistakes and lost time. Today, she was unbeatable, delivering the fastest time in both runs. Thanks to Shiffrin’s overwhelming help, the US has the most women’s World Cup slalom victories in history, surpassing Austria’s 88.
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“The last couple of years, I was really building through the beginning of the season to this point, and somehow it clicks, I guess,” said Shiffrin in the finish. “First run, second run were totally different courses — different timing, different flown and I felt I just had a really good plan and my coaches pointed out the really key sections of the course and then I was good to go.”
Has Shiffrin ever been better? It isn’t very likely. It is a privilege to watch when she skis as she did today. Very few in the sport’s history have performed with such exquisite efficiency. She sees the timing and executes with power and precision. Truly amazing. We are so fortunate to be fans of the sport during the best of Shiffrin.
Shiffrin shared, “Today was a very special day for me. I felt perfect on the skis, so I’m super happy,”
Thanks to the exciting flip 30 format, the final five to ski the last run most often decide the race. Duerr was the first of that group, skied with authority, and crossed with a significant (-0.90) lead. The Swiss four-event skier Michelle Gisin was next to ski; she crossed the finish in 2nd (+0.11) behind Duerr. The Swedish star Anna Swenn Larsson finished behind the two leaders, and Duerr knew she had earned a podium. It was then up to the two Stifel US Ski Team stars to decide the race. Unfortunately, while skiing with the lead, Stifel US Ski Team’s Paula Moltzan missed her timing, got into trouble, and could not finish. Then Gisin knew she had earned her slalom podium, the eighth of her career. Her first World Cup podium in over a year.
“The first run was not so easy; I was not happy with how I skied,” said Duerr, who skied well compared to everyone but Shiffrin. “But the second was really fun. Although it was turny, especially in the last part, I was happy with my skiing.”
“It’s totally crazy to be back on the slalom podium — I would never have thought that, to be honest,” said Gisin, who finished third for the third consecutive biennial slalom race in Lienz, including 2019 and 2021.
Canadians shine
Although Canada’s Amelia Smart did not deliver her best skiing in the morning edition, seeing her take advantage of her early start, ski very well, and earn (-0.47) lead when she crossed was exciting. During the afternoon, Smart gained ten positions and finished a season-best 14th. Smart was the third fastest on the second run.
However, her teammate Ali Nullmeyer was 15th after the morning; although she did not cross the second run finish with the lead, Nullmeyer moved up four positions to end the day 11th.
Home country success
The first of five Austrian women to make the home crowd go wild was Katharina Gallhuber. The ninth racer on the final course crossed with the lead to an excited home crowd and held it for the next five competitors. She relinquished the lead to her teammate Katharina Huber, who also sent the crowd into a frenzy. Together, the two home country athletes climbed the leaderboard significantly. Using the second fastest final run, Seventh place, Gallhuber gained 15 spots, and her teammate 6th place, Huber, gained ten ranks during the afternoon run. None of the three other Austrian women who followed could match the first two Austrians to ski. However, the home crowd showed their appreciation for every one of them. Notably, they all finished among the fastest 15.
The first athlete out of the second run start gate was the last to race the morning’s course. France’s bib 69 Caitlin Mcfarlane qualified for her first final run in only her third career World Cup. The second to compete in the afternoon was bib 53 Latfia’s Dzenifera Germane, who was skiing in only her second World Cup. The two newcomers will proudly carry their first World Cup points into 2024.
The following women’s World Cup races are a GS and SL scheduled in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia January 6th and 7th