Featured Image: Mikaela Shiffrin. Credit: GEPA
The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup concludes three days of intense racing in Sestriere with the Women’s slalom.
The women danced through the first run on the legendary Giovanni Alberto Agnelli Kandahar course, which had an attackable set that required them to give their all to secure a strong position for the second run. The crucial factor was to avoid overskiing on the key parts of the course, particularly in the final segment.
This slalom marked the eighth of ten races in the discipline, making it vital for the World Cup rankings.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the Stifel US Ski Team laid down the fastest first run (53.79), setting herself up to be the inaugural athlete to achieve 100 World Cup victories.
Her aggressive performance in the first run was in contrast to her first run in giant slalom yesterday. She has been verbal about the mental barriers stemming from her crash, which hindered her ability to qualify for the second run yesterday.
However, Shiffrin entered today with a strong sense of confidence, having claimed victory in six of the last seven World Cup slalom races she participated in.
She must maintain her intensity in the second run, as the competition is trailing her by just 0.09 seconds.
Zrinka Ljutić is Hot on Her Heels
The Croatian, Zrinka Ljutić, trails close behind Shiffrin’s leading time (+0.09). Ljutić danced through the course, aggressively attacking each section with composed technical skiing.
The young sensation is close to securing the top of the slalom World Cup standings, as she is only 41 points behind Rast.
She came into the race today with built-up confidence because she flawlessly won the last slalom race in Courchevel and was triumphant in three of the past four slalom World Cup events.
She will be fighting hard in the second run to overthrow Shiffrin’s lead and claim another World Cup victory.
Katharina Liensberger Achieves Third Fastest Time
Austrian Katharina Liensberger looked strong and confident from the start to the end. She executed a direct line and was able to gain speed in the final critical section. She is +0.34 behind Shiffrin’s pace.
Liensberger has been a racer of consistency this season, finishing inside the top nine in all seven races. Within those top-10 finishes, she has achieved two podium finishes. If she wins today, it will be her first victory of 2025 in the discipline and her first since 2022.
Camille Rast Goes Out in Final Gates
The current World Cup standings leader, Camille Rast, was the first athlete on course. She laid down an error-free run until Rast got to the final combination of the course and got caught up on the first gates of the flush.
The Swiss athlete straddled and fell, unable to finish the run.
Paula Moltzan Barely Off the Top 3
Paula Moltzan of the Stifel US Ski Team was the eleventh athlete to kick out of the start gate. Her skiing was strong and dynamic from top to bottom, and in the final section, she let go to pick up even more speed. She finished the first run in 4th place, +0.38 behind Shiffrin.
Heading into the second run, Moltzan is only +0.04 off a top 3 result. She will have to go all out to achieve her third podium in slalom.
Other North Americans
Laurence St-Germain of Alpine Canada Alpin has been fighting in her return to snow this season from injury. Unfortunately, a bobble in the middle of the course and some overskiing cost her time. She heads into the second run in 27th place, +2.31 off of Shiffrin’s winning time.
Her teammate, Ali Nullmeyer, ignited out of the start and had an aggressive first section of the course. She executed the pitch well, carrying her speed onto the lower flats, but then overskied the final section, which cost her time. She finished in +1.05 behind, so she will have her work cut out in the second run.
AJ Hurt of the Stifel US Ski Team punched through the course but had a slight delay in her transition, which wasn’t allowing her to carry her speed efficiently. She found a strong rhythm in the final section of the course, finishing in 24th place heading into the second run.
Katie Hensien of the Stifel US Ski Team was skiing with grit but was late through the middle section of the course. She was fighting to bring it back but pinched a gate at the bottom and straddled.
Teammate Nina O’Brien also was unable to finish as she got caught up at the end of a later combination and got thrown out of the course. She seemed to be able to get up unharmed.
Top 3 Analysis
Top 30 First Run Results
North Americans in the Top 30
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
