Mikaela Shiffrin / GEPA pictures
Flachau, Austria — Mikaela Shiffrin once again proved untouchable under the lights, winning Tuesday’s women’s World Cup night slalom in Flachau and extending one of the most dominant slalom runs the sport has ever seen.
Shiffrin secured her sixth career Flachau victory, her sixth slalom win of the season, her 70th World Cup slalom victory, and her 111th career World Cup slalom podium. She finished 0.41 seconds ahead of Moltzan after finding decisive speed in the final two sectors, just as she did in the opening run.
Top Five — Women’s Flachau Slalom
- 1st — 🇺🇸 USA Mikaela Shiffrin — 1995 — Atomic, Oakley — +0.00
- 2nd — 🇺🇸 USA Paula Moltzan — 1994 — — — +0.41
- 3rd — 🇦🇹 AUT Katharina Truppe — 1996 — Völkl — +0.65
- 4th — 🇨🇭 SUI Camille Rast — 1999 — HEAD — +0.91
- 5th — 🇨🇭 SUI Wendy Holdener — 1993 — HEAD — +1.02
The result also delivered a powerful team moment for the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, with Paula Moltzan finishing second. It marked the first U.S. women’s one–two since Semmering 2022, in the same order, the same skiers.
Austria’s Katharina Truppe completed the podium, sending the Flachau crowd into full celebration with a home-nation result that carried enormous weight.
How Shiffrin won it
Shiffrin started the second run with a 0.19-second lead over Moltzan. She gave up time early on a slope that constantly disrupts rhythm with aggressive rollers, but she never lost control of the race.
“The second run actually felt like a really good track,” Shiffrin said. “There wasn’t a lot of room, for sure, but it was quite enjoyable to ski.”
Like the first run, she delivered her best skiing in the final two sectors, extending her advantage decisively at the bottom. Even though she recorded only the seventh-fastest second run, her ability to manage pressure and attack when it mattered proved decisive.
“There’s a very special feeling when the skis are really quick,” she said. “But it’s so hard to feel that for the whole course on this hill. Every single time you get a roller, it breaks your rhythm.”
“It just kept getting louder”
Staying strong over the terrain, Shiffrin said, was the key — even when nothing feels perfect.
“The key is being strong and confident over the rollers, but that’s just so hard to do,” she said. “I just tried to push every turn. It’s never fast enough, but you keep trying.”
The crowd added another layer of difficulty. As Camille Rast, Katharina Truppe, and Paula Moltzan each crossed the line with green leader lights, the noise built steadily.
“Even from the start, there were people yelling and kids shouting,” Shiffrin said. “It’s a mental challenge to be right there in the right moment.”
By the time she pushed out of the gate, the atmosphere had reached full volume.
“It just kept getting louder,” she said. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
Sharing the podium with Moltzan made the win even more meaningful.
“It’s amazing to share this with Paula,” Shiffrin said. “Podiums with teammates are the best thing in the world.”
Moltzan closes the gap with a confident, complete run
Paula Moltzan delivered an aggressive second run Tuesday night, attacking from the start and carrying speed through the middle, and delivered a U.S. one–two under the lights in Flachau.
Moltzan left the gate with intent, skied cleanly through the rollers, and crossed the line 0.24 seconds ahead of Katharina Truppe, guaranteeing herself at least second place with only Mikaela Shiffrin still to ski. The result marked Moltzan’s fourth career World Cup slalom podium.
“It feels a bit long awaited,” Moltzan said. “But I’m really grateful.”
She said a central focus this winter has been narrowing the gap to Shiffrin — and Tuesday’s performance reflected that progress.
“There have been very few times in my life that I’ve beaten Mikaela,” Moltzan said. “But I think today still shows I’m getting closer.”
Moltzan emphasized just how deep and unpredictable the women’s slalom field has become.
“The level of women’s World Cup slalom right now is untouchable,” she said. “On any given day, you really don’t know who’s going to be on the podium.”
Sharing the result with her longtime teammate made the night even more meaningful.
“I love being on the podium with my teammates,” Moltzan said. “So to share this one with Mikaela feels extra special.”
She also credited the course conditions in the final run, noting that despite heavy traffic, the slope remained fair.
“There were a lot of breakdowns, but the rut was quite clean,” Moltzan said. “It was fully skiable.”
Already Olympic qualified, Moltzan left Flachau with momentum — and a growing belief that her first World Cup victory is coming.
Truppe delivers for Austria
Katharina Truppe gave the Flachau crowd exactly what it wanted, fighting through nerves to claim her sixth career World Cup slalom podium — and her first on home snow.
The Austrian said the pressure was immediate in the start gate.
“It was a bit tough for me in the second run because I was so nervous at the start,” Truppe said.
Despite losing time early, she stayed aggressive and committed as the course opened up.
“I knew I had to push and go to the limit,” she said. “I had to put it all together.”
When she crossed the line and saw green, the reaction was instant.
“I was so happy when I saw the green light,” Truppe said.
The energy from the crowd played a role throughout the run.
“I heard them and thought, ‘OK, I have to push because they want to have a show,’” she said.
Truppe’s third-place finish ignited the Flachau stadium and delivered Austria a podium moment that carried nearly as much weight as a victory.
Big Movers — Second Run Impact
- 8th — 🇦🇱 ALB Lara Colturi — 2006 — — — +1.79
Fastest second run; moved up 8 positions - 13th — 🇺🇸 USA Nina O’Brien — 1997 — — — +2.33
Second-fastest second run; moved up 10 positions
Stifel U.S. Ski Team — Final Results
- 1st — 🇺🇸 USA Mikaela Shiffrin — 1995 — Atomic, Oakley — +0.00
- 2nd — 🇺🇸 USA Paula Moltzan — 1994 — — — +0.41
- 13th — 🇺🇸 USA Nina O’Brien — 1997 — — — +2.33
O’Brien delivered one of the standout second runs of the night, posting the second-fastest time in the final run and charging 10 positions up the leaderboard to finish 13th, tying her best career World Cup slalom result.
“I feel really good about it,” O’Brien said. “I think I had a good approach both runs. The first run felt like good, solid skiing.”
Starting higher in the order for the second run, she made the most of improved conditions.
“In the second run, I really wanted to take advantage of a better start and course,” she said. “I feel like I was able to do that, and it’s a good step forward.”
Already Olympic qualified, O’Brien said she is enjoying the process and beginning to find more rhythm across both technical events.
“I’m really enjoying racing,” she said. “I feel like I’m finding a little more flow in both events. I’m excited to keep building and keep sending it.”
She also pointed to the team’s depth after watching the first-run performances from Shiffrin and Moltzan.
“It was pretty inspiring seeing what Paula and Mikaela were able to throw down in the first run,” O’Brien said. “We’ve talked a lot about our GS speed, but it’s cool to see the slalom speed our team has too.”
Canada — Final Results
- 21st — 🇨🇦 CAN Ali Nullmeyer — 1998 — Atomic — +2.87
strong return from injury - 22nd — 🇨🇦 CAN Laurence St-Germain — 1994 — +2.94
St-Germain’s race ended dramatically after a hard crash beyond the finish. The former world champion stayed down briefly, drawing silence from the crowd before rising to loud applause.
Another Flachau classic
Shiffrin did not need the fastest second run to win. She needed excellence and the ability to deliver when the race demanded it most.
On a night defined by pressure, noise, and razor-thin margins, she delivered again — reinforcing why Flachau continues to be one of her defining stages.
Race Results
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Race Analysis: Leaders & Other Qualified North Americans
About the Author: Peter Lange
