Camille Rast / GEPA pictures
Top Five After First Run – Women’s World Cup Slalom (Kranjska Gora)
- 1st — 🇨🇭 Camille Rast (SUI) — 50.24
- 2nd — 🇺🇸 Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) — +0.10
- 3rd — 🇨🇭 Wendy Holdener (SUI) — +0.77
- 4th — 🇺🇸 Paula Moltzan (USA) — +0.89
- 5th — 🇦🇹 Katharina Truppe (AUT) — +0.90
Rast edges Shiffrin after first run as Kranjska Gora slalom sets up wide-open finale
Camille Rast delivered a composed, late-charging first run to lead the women’s World Cup slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, edging Mikaela Shiffrin by a tenth of a second on a quick, rhythm-driven set that rewarded timing and focused anticipation to the very bottom.
Rast’s 50.24 came from owning the final two sectors, where she accelerated cleanly while others bled speed. Shiffrin is +0.10 back in second, with Wendy Holdener and Paula Moltzan completing a tightly packed top four. Four skiers sit within a second of the Swiss leader, and the door is wide open for a decisive second run.
Rast strikes late; Shiffrin sits perfectly poised
Camille Rast (SUI) didn’t dominate early splits, but she controlled the bottom—first in Sectors 3 and 4—to take the lead. It was a tactically smart run on a set designed to keep the field close and reward patience late.
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) skied third and showed why she has owned the discipline. She didn’t extract maximum speed up top, yet ranked second through the final three sectors to slot just a tenth back. Crucially, Shiffrin avoids the leader’s chair and sits in ideal position to attack run two.
“The surface is very supportive, so it’s a good time to be skiing a course this quick,” Shiffrin said. “It’s challenging, but for me it was quite fun to ski, and I felt like I was pushing as hard as I can.”
A win would give Shiffrin her seventh consecutive World Cup slalom victory and make her perfect six-for-six this season. If she doesn’t win, it would mark the first time this winter she’s been beaten in slalom—either way, the story still runs through her.
Wendy Holdener (SUI) was brilliant in Sector 2 but lost time in the mid-course compression and holds third at +0.77. Paula Moltzan (USA) set the fastest opening split in the field, then paid for the early aggression late, finishing fourth at +0.89.
Rast’s momentum is real. She won the giant slalom here Saturday and owns three career World Cup victories—two in slalom—though neither slalom win came with Shiffrin in the field.
DNFs thinned the contenders early. Zrinka Ljutić and Lara Colturi both went out, with Colturi—whose father set the course—crashing to her hip while pushing the tempo.
North American report: USA depth shines; Canada shut out
United States (Stifel U.S. Ski Team)
Shiffrin and Moltzan headline the U.S. charge, ranked second and fourth, respectively, but the depth story mattered just as much.
- A.J. Hurt (bib 31) delivered a composed run to sit 15th (+2.11), squarely in the mix for a second-run move.
- Elisabeth Bocock (bib 36) revealed grit and speed to qualify 25th (+2.92), earning her first women’s World Cup slalom second run—a milestone for the accomplished GS skier.
- Nina O’Brien (bib 42) skied cleanly to 28th (+3.09) and safely through to run two.
Canada
It was a rare off day. Laurence St‑Germain DNF’d early, and Amelia Smart slipped out of the top 30 as the list filled. The result: no Canadian women advance—an unusual outcome in slalom.
High-bib impact: late starters cash in as field stretches
The course and surface rewarded quality skiing to the end of the start list. With five DNFs and one DNS, plus large gaps behind the leaders, bibs 31+ found real opportunity. The time spread from Rast to 30th settled at 3.49 seconds.
High-bib qualifiers (bib 31+)
- 🇸🇪 Bib 33 Estelle Alphand — 14th, +1.93 (fastest finisher among bibs 31+)
- 🇺🇸 Bib 31 A.J. Hurt — 15th, +2.11
- 🇮🇹 Bib 40 Giulia Valleriani — 20th, +2.69
- 🇮🇱 Bib 70 Noa Szollos — 22nd, +2.81 (highest bib to qualify)
- 🇦🇹 Bib 51 Leonie Raich — 24th, +2.87
- 🇺🇸 Bib 36 Elisabeth Bocock — 25th, +2.92
- 🇮🇹 Bib 46 Beatrice Sola — 27th, +3.07
- 🇺🇸 Bib 42 Nina O’Brien — 28th, +3.09
- 🇸🇪 Bib 58 Moa Landström — 29th, +3.29
- 🇮🇹 Bib 53 Emilia Mondinelli — 30th, +3.49 ✅
First Run Top 30
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Run Analysis: Leaders & Other Qualified North Americans
About the Author: Peter Lange
