Shiffrin, Rast, Holdener / GEPA pictures
Rast edges Shiffrin in Kranjska Gora slalom classic, completes GS–SL double
Top five — Kranjska Gora women’s World Cup slalom
- 2nd — Mikaela Shiffrin 🇺🇸 — +0.14
- 3rd — Wendy Holdener 🇨🇭 — +1.83
- 4th — Paula Moltzan 🇺🇸 — +1.97
Camille Rast delivered the fastest first and second runs of the day to edge Mikaela Shiffrin by 0.14 seconds and win Sunday’s women’s World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The victory completed a rare giant slalom–slalom double for Rast and marked the first time she has won a slalom with Shiffrin in the field — and the first time Shiffrin has been beaten in slalom this season.
As the first-run leader, Rast skied last and handled maximum pressure with precision and energy. She posted the fastest second run (49.96) to finish in 1:40.20, extending her first-run advantage just enough to deny Shiffrin, who had delivered what she later described as one of her most committed runs of the season.
“It was a battle, but I had a lot of fun,” Rast said. “I gave everything I had this weekend. To win twice on the same weekend is quite amazing. The slope was amazing, and the surface preparation was perfect.”
Meanwhile, Wendy Holdener completed the podium in third, 1.83 seconds back, after another composed, technically sharp performance that again highlighted her consistency in high-pressure slalom racing.
Shiffrin pushes to the absolute limit
Despite starting behind Holdener, Shiffrin attacked immediately, carrying a 0.67-second first-run advantage into the decisive stages of the race. Out of the gate, she skied aggressively through the middle and closed with authority, briefly taking a commanding lead that appeared likely to extend her unbeaten slalom streak.
“I couldn’t ski faster, but I tried,” Shiffrin said. “I had a very specific technical feeling I was trying to find in the second run, and I felt it. I pushed so hard, and I can be really, really proud of that.”
Sector timing backed up her assessment. In fact, she was fastest in the lower sections of the course and lost time only where Rast was exceptional. For Shiffrin, the biggest accomplishment was executing technical details at full speed on an exceptionally fast track.
“I was not backing off,” she said. “I was pushing so hard that I felt like I was flying. That’s what I wanted, no matter what happened.”
Even before Rast skied, Shiffrin knew the margin would be tight.
“Honestly, yes, I believed Camille could be faster,” she said. “I hoped not, of course, but her skiing has been building. To win back-to-back races in two different events is incredibly hard, and she did it in spectacular fashion.”
Holdener back on the podium
After a challenging stretch in which results had not reflected her level, Holdener said the podium carried added meaning. She described the season as “not that easy until now,” but said she was happy to be back in the top three and to take “a big step to compete against those two again.”
The Swiss veteran entered the race with 38 career World Cup slalom podiums, yet had gone nine races without a top-three finish — her longest such stretch in a decade. On Sunday, however, she showed clear progress, posting the third-fastest time in both runs, even if the race ultimately became a two-woman duel at the front.
She added that the result confirmed she is moving in the right direction and is “trying step by step to catch up,” a process she believes is finally starting to show.
A race decided purely by execution
Overall, the second run unfolded as a tactical battle, with multiple lead changes and no DNFs. All 30 second-run starters finished, an unusual outcome that underscored the level of the course and conditions. It placed the result squarely on execution rather than survival.
Shiffrin said that dynamic is exactly what makes slalom compelling.
“I don’t believe it’s possible to win every race with this level of competition,” she said. “What we saw today is what our sport should be — challenging, intense, and decided by great skiing.”
United States: five Stifel U.S. Ski Team qualifiers score
Five Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes qualified for the second run in Sunday’s women’s slalom, and all five finished in the points in a race decided purely by execution, with all 30 second-run starters reaching the finish.
- 2nd — Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
Skied at full commitment in the second run and narrowly missed a seventh straight slalom victory, pushing to the limit on a fast, demanding Podkoren track. - 4th — Paula Moltzan (USA)
Finished just off the podium in what she described as a bittersweet result. Moltzan said racing against the very top highlighted both the level required and the room still left to improve, adding that seeing multiple Americans deep in the results was “pretty big” for the team. - 13th — A.J. Hurt (USA)
Continued her return from injury with her first World Cup slalom result of the season, saying it felt good to have her solid skiing back and noting she no longer thinks about her hip while in the course. - 19th — Nina O’Brien (USA)
Produced the only significant second-run charge, climbing nine positions after finally bringing the sensations she has felt in training into a race environment. - 30th — Elisabeth Bocock (USA)
Earned the first World Cup slalom points of her career, finishing cleanly despite a costly mistake in the middle of her second run.
Rast will celebrate quietly—“with family, something good to eat, no stress,” she said—but the lasting image from Kranjska Gora was unmistakable: Shiffrin at full throttle, Rast rising to the moment, and slalom racing at its very best.
Slalom Results
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Race Analysis: Leaders & Other Qualified North Americans
About the Author: Peter Lange
