(Courchevel) Slovak skier Petra Vlhova took advantage of a final frantic descent to beat Mikaela Shiffrin and claim her 30th career victory on Thursday in difficult conditions during the women’s World Cup slalom in Courchevel, France.
Racing down the slopes in the rain, Vlhova trailed the American by 0.17 seconds after the first run. However, she had the second fastest descent.
Shiffrin, who was last to start, finished 0.24 seconds behind Vlhova, who stopped the clock at one minute, 48.14 seconds (1:48.14) after her two runs.
The rest of the skiers finished more than two seconds behind. Austrian skiers Katharina Truppe and Katharina Gallhuber finished in third and fourth positions respectively. Shiffrin’s partner, Paula Moltzan, moved from fourth place after the first run to fifth place, 2.64 seconds behind Vlhova.
Ali Nullmeyer (1:51.73) was the top Canadian in 13th place. Amelia Smart (1:53.16) finished 26th.
It was Vlhova’s 21st slalom victory, ranking fourth in history in this regard. Only Shiffrin (55), Marlies Schild (35) and Vreni Schneider (34) have more.
Shiffrin and Vlhova finished in the top two for the 23rd time in World Cup history. Shiffrin has won 10 times.
“I feel very good, with a lot of confidence,” Vlhova said. The last races, I was still there, but I was missing something. This victory is very important. I know I can be fast and I showed it today. »
“It’s really good for our sport because I think we push each other to be better,” Vlhova said.
Vlhova won the first slalom of the season, while Shiffrin won the next two, including Killington, Vermont, in November
In January, Lena Dürr became the first skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova to win a World Cup slalom this season.
Shiffrin (700 points) improved her lead in the overall standings, now ahead of Federica Brignone by 143 points. Vlhova follows at 491.
