Young Kiwi Robinson Beats Shiffrin
U.S. Alpine Ski Team member Mikaela Shiffrin (Edwards, Colo.) clearly remembers the first time she beat her childhood idol Tina Maze and experienced the exhilarating feeling that she had finally arrived as a top competitor on the World Cup circuit.
On a sun-splashed day high in the Austrian Alps on the mighty and menacing Rettenbach Glacier in Sölden, Austria, New Zealand’s 17-year-old sensation Alice Robinson edged Shiffrin, the defending overall World Cup champion, by just 0.06 seconds to claim her first-ever World Cup win. Her giant slalom victory over two highly-accomplished athletes clearly states her arrival on the FIS Ski World Cup circuit. Sixty-time World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shiffrin was second, followed by France’s Tessa Worley, a 13-time World Cup winner and three-time World Champion, in third.
Robinson charmed the alpine world last year when at the Season Finals in Soldeu, she claimed a second-place finish, ironically behind Shiffrin. Robinson earned the last spot for the Finals' giant slalom as the Junior World Champion.
“You could see it already last year that she is going to be a really strong skier,” said a complimentary Shiffrin after the race. “I really like the way she skis and I think it’s exciting that she won today.”
Robinson picked up in Soelden right where she left off last year in Soldeu, skiing nearly flawlessly under perfect conditions and blue skies.
The Kiwi herself was clearly emotional after today’s win saying through tears, “It’s like a dream for me and I’m still in shock. To be honest I won by such a small margin against Mikaela, I still feel really lucky to stand here.”
Already in the first run Robinson was challenging Shiffrin. No one could come close to Shiffrin's time as most of the field was more than a second behind. Robinson was the only one who managed to stay within striking distance, ending only 0.14 behind Shiffrin after the first run.
Veteran World Cup star Tessa Worley (FRA) rounded out the podium taking third place 0.36 seconds off the pace thanks to strong second run that saw her improve three place to get on the podium.
It was nearly a dream start to the season for the women’s Audi FIS World Cup. The only dark spot came in the second run when Bernadette Shild (AUT) had to be airlifted off the course after a crash. The diagnosis revealed an ACL tear in her right knee, which means a premature season end for the tech specialist.
When told that Alice mentioned Mikaela as one of her ski idols growing up and asked if she remembers what that felt like, Mikaela said, “Well, yeah – of course, I remember. That was Tina Maze for me.” “My first victory was at Are (Sweden), and Tina was third. I remember this feeling like it was yesterday. It was so special to feel like I didn't have anything to lose and my entire career was ahead of me. Just being able to ski with no expectations, and how freeing that felt. I can see that in Alice’s skiing. Of course, she’s aggressive, but she takes risks and just skis so well. This nothing-to-lose style is great to watch and for me it's like taking a trip back in time. It’s really exciting to watch her, and it’s fun to remember what that felt like for me, too.”
While finishing second in the opening race of the season, especially coming off a 17-victory run on the World Cup circuit season last year, may seem like a step back for Shiffrin, it was quite the opposite as it brings another new challenger to the circuit and ignites the fire for the long season ahead.
“It always stings a little bit...you’re like ‘awe man I wish it was enough!’ But if it’s not enough, it’s not enough, and Alice was also skiing really, really well, and it’s super cool to watch her and I think it’s super cool for everybody,” Mikaela said. “So in a way, it’s motivation, nobody wants to be in second place, everybody wants to win! So I’m just going to take the positives from the day and take the motivation too!”
In addition to Shiffrin, four Americans started Saturday’s opening GS, including Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, Calif.), who finished 21st to post a career-best World Cup result.
“I’m definitely happy with today, it's a good start to the season,” Nina said. “I feel like my training has been going well, so I’m happy to see that it came out on race day as well. I think that myself, and all the girls on our team, have more to show too.”
AJ Hurt (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 41st, and Keely Cashman (Strawberry, Calif.) was 52nd. Former University of Denver skier Storm Klomhaus (Boulder, Colo.) started her first World Cup did not finish the first run.
Up next, the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team members return to Colorado for their final training camp of the season ahead of the next World Cup, a slalom event in Levi, Finland, Nov. 23.
“Now it’s time for some slalom! Gotta get down to business,” Mikaela said.
