Shiffrin Claims 98th Win, Adds Eighth Reindeer To Her Herd

On a wet, rainy and snowy day in Finland, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete and the greatest alpine skier of all-time, Mikaela Shiffrin notched her 98th World Cup win at the Levi World Cup. Teammate Paula Moltzan was not too far off the mark in eighth place.

Shiffrin demolished the competition, showing a bulletproof combination of physical strength and mental fortitude to notch up her 98th Audi FIS World Cup win, her 61st title in slalom, and a record eighth triumph on the Finnish slope.

She established a +0.60 second lead after the first run with a precise, dynamic performance. If there were any nerves about blowing a leading position, as she had done in the season opening weekend in Sölden, they were not evident.

On an inconsistent piste that affected the confidence of many skiers, Shiffrin made some hellishly difficult sections – that twisted the likes of Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) out of position – look simple.

Katharina Liensberger (AUT) was the only other athlete to ski with such smoothness: she put in a beautifully balanced run to come second (+0.79 seconds behind).

Lena Duerr (GER), improving with each season, battled the piste and made great recoveries to finish in third place (+0.83).

“It is a great start to the slalom season,” said Shiffrin, “I had two really strong runs so I am happy to fight on the second run in tough conditions!”

In what can only be described as the opposite weather from the frigid temperatures the year prior, the world’s best slalom skiers took to the Levi slope ready to showcase their skills in the first slalom event of the season.

Despite going hard out the gate and never looking in trouble, Shiffrin didn’t find it easy. “It was a little bumpy, I was getting twisted sometimes, but you keep fighting,” she said. “It wasn’t the perfect tempo, but I had enough really good turns that it worked really well. In the end it was a really solid run in conditions that were not so easy.

“I will always find something [to improve on]. There were some turns I was missing, tripping on the tracks a little bit. But it is an amazing way to start the slalom season, I am super happy.”

She feels the performance banishes any mental doubts. “I was a bit off with my mentality in Sölden. So it was important to start in a good place with slalom. It was important to find my mentality.

“The most important thing is that from this weekend I’m racing every single weekend until the World Cup finals, it’s going to be busy. So it’s going to be a big push.

The most challenging thing is, we’re skiing slalom in Gurgl, there is not a lot of opportunity for GS training, then there are three GS races coming up in the next two and a half weeks. So it’s important to think about the timing, and balance both.”

Shiffrin said that her longstanding slalom rival Petra Vlhova (SVK) played a part today despite her absence with injury.

“I am thinking about her quite a lot. She skis this hill so wonderfully, I’m imagining what she does and am trying to do it myself. I’m feeling Petra’s absence.”

Shiffrin acquires her eighth reindeer, the traditional prize for victory at Levi. She doesn’t yet have a moniker for the new addition.

“Oh my goodness, the reindeer, you never forget,” she said. “It’s not good karma for me to think about the name before the race. It’s always the same, I’m going to wait and confer with the team, and see what everybody says.” “I don’t know what I will name the reindeer yet – I am going to wait and confirm with the team on ideas and see what everyone says,” said Shiffirn when asked what she will name the eighth reindeer to her herd.

This win also moves Shiffrin up another ‘all time’ list. With eight Levi wins, she now has the second-most wins at a single venue. Lindsey Vonn’s 14 downhill victories at Lake Louise looks unassailable, however.

In the final minutes of the race, the competition was heating up after Katharina Liensberger of Austria skied a flawless run and positioning herself at the top of the standings. Shiffrin knew what to do. With reindeer on the line, she skied a clean and fierce run to ultimately win the race, her 98th World Cup and eighth reindeer.

Liensberger also loves Levi, clocking up her fourth podium in Finland. She put down two accurate, clean and powerful runs, to also belie the conditions.

“It’s amazing to start the season like this, it’s really great to race here in Levi as always,” she said. “It’s the first race of the season and it was not easy. The track was a little bit bumpy, but I felt good. I just wanted to go fast, it’s amazing to be here. I’m really looking forward to the next races. It was super fun.

Shiffrin was full of praise. “Katarina just killed it. It’s so cool to see her back on the podium, skiing like that.”

Duerr, meanwhile, was also smooth and relaxed for most of her runs, but was slowed slightly by some mid-section wobbles.

“The race was super fun, as always,” she said. “The last years at Levi were super nice for me, and today I again got on the podium. I’m a little bit relieved. I’m looking forward to the next weeks, they will be stressful but fun.”

The US tech women skied in top form on the traditionally icy course, the weather continued to have a mind of its own, raining one moment to snowing giant chunky snowflakes the next. But this did not seem to phase the world’s best as they prepared for the second run.

It was a straightforward course set with some slick turns on the pitch that some women were having trouble with. But if you knifed the top pitch you were in for a successful day. Moltzan, running 26th on the second run, nailed the top section but quickly ran into trouble on the pitch. Moltzan, who is also known for her miraculous saves, made it down with a few notable mistakes to land in eighth place for the day. A result she was very pleased with.

“I am very excited because I have never in my career had a successful race in Levi so to end up in the top ten for me feels like a very big step forward,” said Moltzan.

Katie Hensien and Nina O’Brien also raced the first run but did not finish, they are okay and ready for the next races. Independent U.S. skier Kendahl Roufa also raced her first World Cup start Saturday and while she did not qualify for a second run she was very happy to experience the event.

“I feel really great, very excited and just happy I got through the finish,” said Roufa.

Overall, the women’s alpine team is feeling positive with the combination of the spirit of Christmas, the magic of the Levi reindeer and Santa in the finish. The women will now take this momentum and race slalom again the following weekend in Gurgl, Austria. A brand new venue for the women racers.