Hector Wins Jasna Giant Slalom
Four days after reaching her first World Cup slalom podium, Sara Hector (SWE) ticked another item off her list on Saturday: returning to the winner's circle in giant slalom for the first time in nearly two years.
The Olympic giant slalom champion triumphed by over one-and-a-half seconds on a dramatic day in the Slovakian resort of Jasna in which local favourite Petra Vlhova (SVK) suffered a season-ending knee injury after crashing out of the first run.
With Vlhova out of contention, Hector recorded the fastest time in both runs in a dominant performance to cruise to victory ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin (USA, +1.52s) and Alice Robinson (NZL, +2.71s).
The podium trio were a class ahead of all other skiers on the mountain, with 19-year-old Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) coming a career-best fourth but finishing over four seconds behind Hector.
"It feels so amazing," said the 31-year-old Swede, who had not won a World Cup race since a giant slalom victory on 25 January 2022 in Kronplatz, two weeks before she won the Olympic title in Beijing.
Despite her excitement in returning to the top step of the podium, however, Hector kept her victory in perspective, telling the tens of thousands of spectators who had come to cheer for Vlhova: "I feel so bad for Petra."
Vlhova went down on her inside ski early in the first run before being pitched off the snow and into the safety netting, resulting in a delay of around 15 minutes.
The Olympic slalom champion, who grew up about 17km north of Jasna, was taken down the mountain in a stretcher and transported to hospital, where tests revealed a torn knee ligament that will see her miss the rest of the season.
"Thank you all for the support," Vlhova said in a statement released by her team. "I am positive I can handle the situation. I will fight for the earliest possible comeback."
In an extraordinary first run, Vlhova and the World Cup giant slalom leader entering the race, Federica Brignone (ITA), didn't last beyond the top section, while Hector was sensational to lead the field by a full second.
On a flat, icy piste on which any mistake proved costly, the time difference between even the top skiers was significant, with only Shiffrin (+1.00s) and Robinson (+1.05s) within two-and-a-half seconds of Hector's halfway lead.
The gap between first and 10th after the first run was 3.65 seconds, larger than the gap between first and 30th in all six previous giant slalom first runs this season.
In the second run, the top three confirmed their superiority even further, as first Robinson and then Shiffrin built on their leads only to see the next skier in the gate do the same, culminating in Hector's winning run.
"The snow was perfect, amazing race, I had so much fun skiing today," Hector said. "I feel like my setup is so good for ice, everything was working today."
Shiffrin, who won an emotional Flachau slalom on Tuesday just days after visiting partner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR) in hospital, was in awe of Hector's performance.
"It was just fun to watch her ski," the American said. "You have to just take a step back and say, 'That's just nice to look at.'"
Shiffrin gave everything she had in search of her 95th World Cup win, and despite missing out, she still reached her 149th podium.
"I felt I skied the best I can possibly ski on the second run and I'm super happy with that," she said.
By contrast, Robinson had a nervous moment or two early in her second run despite leading by over one-and-a-half seconds over Ljutic at the start gate.
"Second run, I was thinking I had to push and at the start I made a couple of mistakes and I thought to myself, 'Maybe reel it in a little bit,' because there was a big gap to fourth," Robinson said.
"I just tried to keep my feet underneath me because I felt like I was losing a bit of control at some points."
The New Zealander eventually found her rhythm to extend her lead over Ljutic and confirm her second podium of the season.
While Robinson won't ski Sunday's slalom, Shiffrin will start as favourite as she continues her march towards 100 World Cup wins. But fresh off Tuesday's slalom podium and Saturday's win, Hector might not be finished yet.
"This week has had an awesome start for me, that's for sure," she said.
