Slalom Globe For Liensberger, Overall To Vlhova
Katharina Liensberger earned the victory and the slalom discipline globe today at the Audi FIS World Cup Season Finals in Lenzerheide. Meanwhile, Petra Vlhova clinched the Overall Globe with her sixth-place finish.
The conditions were sloppy, with the heavy snow that canceled the speed events earlier in the week making the Swiss track difficult. With two nearly perfect runs, 2021 Slalom World Champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria took the win by more than a second over Shiffrin with Michelle Gisin of Switzerland in third.
Since the World Championships in Cortina, the Austrian has been on a roll and used her late-season momentum to power through to today's victory and her first career globe. Heading into today, it was a three-woman race for the slalom bragging rights between Liensberger, Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova.
"That I can say I was good enough to win the slalom globe, that is fantastic,” said an overjoyed Liensberger after the race. “I don’t think I can ask for anything more, or that it can get any better.”
Shiffrin took second place in the race, but was far behind Liensberger, who dominated the field, topping the American by 1.24 seconds. Third place went to Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin, 1.95 seconds behind.
Shiffrin’s result pushed her from third to second in the slalom standings, but Liensberger’s win secured her the women’s slalom title, vaulting her over Slovakian Petra Vlhova who won the title in the 2019-20 season. But Vlhova didn’t go home empty-handed, as her sixth-place finish in the race clinched her the overall crystal globe for the season, making her the first Slovakian to ever win the overall title.
Shiffrin was content with the race and season outcome, given the conditions and a difficult last year for her personally. “I think being able to get to this point and have any races at World Cup Finals, especially with really difficult weather this week is really lucky,” she said. “There’s a lot of things that went totally different this season and I had a lot of uncertainty personally. It’s been quite successful, even if it’s comparatively not as successful as other seasons. It’s a really good stepping stone for me. I’m trying to just take just the moments that are positive and move forward with that.”
Shiffrin was also quick to commend the 23-year-old Liensberger, who had an extraordinary season to land the designation of the world’s best slalom skier. “Her skiing is not only strong but also fearless,” said Shiffrin. “It’s quite impressive to see that. I knew it would have to be a really really perfect race for me to have a chance to overtake her in the globe fight, so it was just trying to find a good rhythm for myself today and there were definitely some good turns in there. She absolutely has just been consistent this season and building higher and higher and putting really impressive skiing out there.”
Moltzan completed her breakout year with yet another strong performance, finishing in seventh. It was the former NCAA champion’s second-best individual World Cup result, and also proved that she is one of the top skiers on the World Cup circuit—landing in 11th in the slalom standings.
"I'm extremely excited about how my season had ended," said Moltzan. "I had four really solid slalom results in a row, which is something I've been striving towards my whole career. To see it finally come to fruition is really awesome and exciting and really motivating. I can't wait for the next year already!"
Meanwhile, Vlhova, who led the slalom standings heading into the day, faltered in the first run and ultimately had to settle for sixth place on the day. But there was a silver, or crystal, lining for the Slovakian, who thanks to her top-ten finish today secured the Overall Title. It is the first Big Globe for Vlhova, who goes into tomorrow’s last race of the season with a 136-point lead over Lara Gut-Behrami.
“This season for me was really difficult, I did a lot of races and it was very long,” said Vlhova. “But now I can say ‘I did it’. Coming from Slovakia, I don’t have a big team, we’re not a big ski nation, so to bring the Globe home means a lot to me and my country. I think I need time to realize everything, but I look forward to brining the Globe home and celebrating with my friends and family.”
Vlhova’s clinching of the Big Globe today, means that all Alpine World Cup globes have been decided heading into tomorrow’s last races. Marta Bassino has already claimed the giant slalom globe, while on the men’s side, Alexis Pinturualt wrapped up the Big Globe today and Marco Schwarz earlier clinched the small men’s slalom globe.
