Vlhova Takes Slalom Victory Before Olympic Winter Games Kickoff

The final ladies' slalom race before the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games seemed all but locked up by Mikaela Shiffrin, winner of the first run, when she held more than a one-second lead at the final intermediate of the second run. Surprisingly, the American got kicked onto her heels on the last pitch in Lenzerheide, tried her best to recover through the final hairpin, but ultimately missed the fourth to last gate on the course. 

Slovakia's Petra Vlhova, winner of the opening slalom race of the season in Levi, had been trying to repeat that performance all winter long and was rewarded for her attacking second run with the victory. Vlhova moved up five positions after her first-run finish in sixth to take the win 0.10 seconds ahead of Frida Hansdotter of Sweden. Crowd favorite Wendy Holdener, winner of the alpine combined race held on Friday, collected her second podium of the weekend in third. 

With bib 25, Katharina Liensberger of Austria skied to a career-best sixth-place result. Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia made an impressive return to the circuit just fourth months after tearing the ACL in her right knee and undergoing an experimental surgery. The tour veteran skied the third-fastest second run and finished the day in 12th, a promising result as the 33-year-old next heads to her fourth Olympics. 

It looked like Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) was going to take her seventh FIS World Cup slalom win of the season in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, but made a mistake just before the finish and had to hike.

Shiffrin, who would have clinched the slalom World Cup crystal globe with a win or a second-place finish, led after first run by over six-tenths of a second. She built on the lead throughout her second run to over a second, but with the finish line in sight, Shiffrin made a mistake and couldn’t keep her line. She finished 27th.

Resi Stiegler (Jackson, Wyo.) was the only other American in the second run, and finished 18th.

Shiffrin now takes a well-deserved break before the PyeongChang Olympics. Stiegler will race the Stockholm city event on Tuesday.