Shiffrin smokes the competition in Sestriere slalom
It has been more than 10 years since Sestriere hosted a women’s World Cup slalom and giant slalom, and the ladies put on a great show for the thousands of fans at this weekend’s event. On Sunday, the U.S. Ski Team’s Mikaela Shiffrin proved once again that she is the one to beat in slalom, winning her sixth consecutive slalom race and her 23rd career World Cup.
It was not an easy start to the day. The first run course set was tough, knocking out about 25 percent of the field. Shiffrin skied the first run course fast enough to take an early lead, but Slovakian Veronika Velez Zuzulova was hot on her heels with just 0.12 seconds between her and the American.
“It was not perfect, that’s for sure,” Shiffrin said after her first run. “I was pretty stiff, so I was a little bit bummed with my skiing. But I have another run, so we’ll see what happens.”
Shiffrin’s coach Mike Day set the second run course, and the American took advantage and decisively increased her lead. She channelled her first run frustrations into a fiery second run that earned her the win by 1.09 seconds.
“I took some free runs before second run and tried to find a solid feeling that I could rely on. And then when I went out of the gate second run, I just tried to make speed on every gate and never let up, and that mentality helped me a lot,” she shared.
Her excitement was obvious has she came into the finish area and punched the air in happiness. With her victory, she retains the leader’s bib in slalom and continues to lead the overall ranking with 498 points.
Second and third place for the day were Velez Zuzulova and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in an exact repeat of the Killington World Cup slalom podium. Velez Zuzulova is one of the few athletes who has been around long enough to have raced on the slope several times including the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.
“Second run I had a really good start, but on the lower part, I think I was too straight and it was a little bit more terrain than I was expecting, so I lost a lot of time,” she explained.
Holdener found herself back on the podium and said it was the best part of the day.
“I had some troubles in the course, so I’m happy that I fought for the podium, but I could do it better,” she said.
The U.S. Ski Team’s Resi Stiegler had a solid result, landing in 15th place with a total time of 1:41.36. Lila Lapanja hiked on her first run after stumbling in the last few gates of the course, and did not qualify for a second run. Megan McJames also did not qualify for a second run.
The top Canadian for the day was Erin Mielzynski, who finished in 21st place. Laurence St. Germain, Valerie Grenier and Marie-Michele Gagnon did not qualify for a second run.
Women’s action continues in Val d’Isere next week with the ladies’ downhill and alpine combined.
Top 10
- Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
- Veronika Velez Zuzulova (SVK) – Salomon / Salomon / Salomon
- Frida Hansdotter (SWE) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Petra Vlhova (SVK) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Head / Head / Head
- Sarka Strachova (CZE) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
- Michelle Gisin (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Nina Loeseth (NOR) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Melanie Meillard (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
- Maren Skjoeld (NOR) – Voelkl / Marker / Dalbello
Official Results
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | Diff. | FIS Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 6535237 | SHIFFRIN Mikaela | 1995 | USA | 49.22 | 48.58 | 1:37.80 | 0.00 | |
2 | 4 | 705287 | VELEZ ZUZULOVA Veronika | 1984 | SVK | 49.34 | 49.55 | 1:38.89 | +1.09 | 8.02 |
3 | 5 | 516280 | HOLDENER Wendy | 1993 | SUI | 49.74 | 49.27 | 1:39.01 | +1.21 | 8.91 |
4 | 3 | 505679 | HANSDOTTER Frida | 1985 | SWE | 49.52 | 49.57 | 1:39.09 | +1.29 | 9.50 |
5 | 7 | 425771 | LOESETH Nina | 1989 | NOR | 50.00 | 49.53 | 1:39.53 | +1.73 | 12.74 |
6 | 13 | 516284 | GISIN Michelle | 1993 | SUI | 49.77 | 49.86 | 1:39.63 | +1.83 | 13.47 |
7 | 6 | 705423 | VLHOVA Petra | 1995 | SVK | 49.65 | 50.13 | 1:39.78 | +1.98 | 14.58 |
8 | 9 | 505760 | PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria | 1986 | SWE | 50.55 | 49.51 | 1:40.06 | +2.26 | 16.64 |
9 | 2 | 155415 | STRACHOVA Sarka | 1985 | CZE | 49.75 | 50.41 | 1:40.16 | +2.36 | 17.37 |
10 | 15 | 56032 | SCHILD Bernadette | 1990 | AUT | 50.42 | 50.13 | 1:40.55 | +2.75 | 20.25 |
11 | 43 | 516528 | MEILLARD Melanie | 1998 | SUI | 50.19 | 50.39 | 1:40.58 | +2.78 | 20.47 |
12 | 19 | 506341 | WIKSTROEM Emelie | 1992 | SWE | 50.46 | 50.32 | 1:40.78 | +2.98 | 21.94 |
13 | 24 | 425981 | SKJOELD Maren | 1993 | NOR | 50.36 | 50.60 | 1:40.96 | +3.16 | 23.26 |
14 | 16 | 296509 | CURTONI Irene | 1985 | ITA | 50.68 | 50.50 | 1:41.18 | +3.38 | 24.88 |
15 | 11 | 537772 | STIEGLER Resi | 1985 | USA | 50.88 | 50.48 | 1:41.36 | +3.56 | 26.21 |
16 | 18 | 56315 | TRUPPE Katharina | 1996 | AUT | 51.03 | 50.35 | 1:41.38 | +3.58 | 26.36 |
17 | 35 | 56367 | GALLHUBER Katharina | 1997 | AUT | 51.03 | 50.65 | 1:41.68 | +3.88 | 28.56 |
18 | 22 | 206279 | GEIGER Christina | 1990 | GER | 51.32 | 50.56 | 1:41.88 | +4.08 | 30.04 |
19 | 46 | 206536 | WALLNER Marina | 1994 | GER | 51.64 | 50.32 | 1:41.96 | +4.16 | 30.63 |
20 | 48 | 56253 | HUBER Katharina | 1995 | AUT | 51.88 | 50.28 | 1:42.16 | +4.36 | 32.10 |
21 | 17 | 106961 | MIELZYNSKI Erin | 1990 | CAN | 51.08 | 51.10 | 1:42.18 | +4.38 | 32.25 |
22 | 38 | 225525 | TILLEY Alexandra | 1993 | GBR | 51.61 | 50.91 | 1:42.52 | +4.72 | 34.75 |
23 | 41 | 206532 | SCHMOTZ Marlene | 1994 | GER | 51.65 | 50.97 | 1:42.62 | +4.82 | 35.48 |
24 | 31 | 297601 | BRIGNONE Federica | 1990 | ITA | 51.42 | 51.23 | 1:42.65 | +4.85 | 35.71 |
25 | 26 | 296354 | COSTAZZA Chiara | 1984 | ITA | 51.62 | 51.09 | 1:42.71 | +4.91 | 36.15 |
26 | 14 | 196726 | BARTHET Anne-Sophie | 1988 | FRA | 52.00 | 50.76 | 1:42.76 | +4.96 | 36.52 |
27 | 44 | 315187 | IGNJATOVIC Nevena | 1990 | SRB | 51.90 | 51.20 | 1:43.10 | +5.30 | 39.02 |
28 | 32 | 516138 | GUT Lara | 1991 | SUI | 51.11 | 52.01 | 1:43.12 | +5.32 | 39.17 |
29 | 42 | 197319 | BAUD MUGNIER Adeline | 1992 | FRA | 51.86 | 51.30 | 1:43.16 | +5.36 | 39.46 |
Did not start 1st run | ||||||||||
54 | 155699 | PAULATHOVA Katerina | 1993 | CZE | ||||||
53 | 25096 | GUTIERREZ Mireia | 1988 | AND | ||||||
47 | 516504 | DANIOTH Aline | 1998 | SUI | ||||||
Did not qualify for 2nd run | ||||||||||
59 | 299276 | BASSINO Marta | 1996 | ITA | ||||||
58 | 405138 | JELINKOVA Adriana | 1995 | NED | ||||||
57 | 538284 | MCJAMES Megan | 1987 | USA | ||||||
55 | 107613 | GRENIER Valerie | 1996 | CAN | ||||||
52 | 56388 | LIENSBERGER Katharina | 1997 | AUT | ||||||
51 | 155728 | DUBOVSKA Martina | 1992 | CZE | ||||||
50 | 196803 | MOUGEL Laurie | 1988 | FRA | ||||||
40 | 107427 | ST-GERMAIN Laurence | 1994 | CAN | ||||||
39 | 539927 | LAPANJA Lila | 1994 | USA | ||||||
37 | 485637 | ALOPINA Ksenia | 1992 | RUS | ||||||
33 | 206701 | WILLIBALD Elisabeth | 1996 | GER | ||||||
8 | 105269 | GAGNON Marie-Michele | 1989 | CAN | ||||||
Did not finish 2nd run | ||||||||||
10 | 206355 | DUERR Lena | 1991 | GER | ||||||
Did not finish 1st run | ||||||||||
61 | 35079 | SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen | 1982 | ARG | ||||||
60 | 35089 | SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena | 1984 | ARG | ||||||
56 | 56199 | KAPPAURER Elisabeth | 1994 | AUT | ||||||
49 | 56333 | MAIR Chiara | 1996 | AUT | ||||||
45 | 56217 | BRUNNER Stephanie | 1994 | AUT | ||||||
36 | 306249 | HASEGAWA Emi | 1986 | JPN | ||||||
34 | 485802 | TKACHENKO Ekaterina | 1995 | RUS | ||||||
30 | 206487 | WIESLER Maren | 1993 | GER | ||||||
29 | 516334 | CHABLE Charlotte | 1994 | SUI | ||||||
28 | 565320 | FERK Marusa | 1988 | SLO | ||||||
27 | 56143 | GRUENWALD Julia | 1991 | AUT | ||||||
25 | 515997 | FEIERABEND Denise | 1989 | SUI | ||||||
23 | 296259 | MOELGG Manuela | 1983 | ITA | ||||||
21 | 565401 | BUCIK Ana | 1993 | SLO | ||||||
20 | 506146 | SWENN-LARSSON Anna | 1991 | SWE | ||||||
12 | 55759 | KIRCHGASSER Michaela | 1985 | AUT |