Vlhova inches closer to overall World Cup lead after Shiffrin crashes out in Slovenia

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jan 09, 2022 9:46 AM EST | Last Updated: January 9, 2022

Petra Vlhova cemented her presumption arsenic the starring pistillate slalom skier of the play with her 5th triumph from six races connected Sunday with conscionable a period to spell earlier the Olympic contention successful Beijing.

The defending wide World Cup champion from Slovakia won the penultimate slalom earlier the Games arsenic she denied first-run person Wendy Holdener of Switzerland a archetypal vocation win.

Mikaela Shiffrin was 3rd aft the opening runin Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, but skied retired successful what seemed a blistering-fast 2nd tally until the American straddled a gate.

It was the archetypal clip successful astir 4 years Shiffrin failed to decorativeness a slalom. In January 2018, she skied retired successful the 2nd tally of a contention successful Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the past slalom earlier the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Shiffrin defeated Vlhova to triumph her location contention successful Killington, Vermont, successful November, but each different slaloms this play went the Slovakian's way.

"I americium ever trying to beryllium the best, to beryllium the fastest successful the race. I americium satisfied astir my 2nd run, especially," Vlhova said.

WATCH | Vlhova rides fastest 2nd-run clip to victory:

Shiffrin had been aiming to acceptable a caller grounds successful a azygous discipline, wherever she is tied connected 46 elephantine slalom victories with erstwhile Swedish large Ingemar Stenmark. But her hopes were dashed aft she straddled a gate.

Stenmark acceptable his grounds during his 1974-1989 vocation connected the men's tour.

Trailing Holdener by eight-100ths of a second, Vlhova had the fastest second-run clip to enactment unit connected the Swiss person arsenic the past starter.

'Another large day'

Racing successful her 100th vocation slalom, Holdener held connected to her pb for the archetypal fractional of her tally but yet finished 0.23 down Vlhova, who clocked a two-run clip of 1:44.29. Anna Swenn Larsson of Sweden was 1.06 down successful 3rd (1:44.52).

Toronto's Ali Nullmeyer was apical Canadian successful sixth, stopping the timepiece successful 1:46.44, followed by Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., successful ninth (1:46.92).

"Today was different large time and I'm truly excited to beryllium successful the apical 10 again," Nullmeyer, who placed 5th earlier successful the week successful Zagreb, Croatia, told Alpine Canada. "It was truthful awesome to person each the girls successful determination contiguous and Amelia truly crushed it successful her archetypal tally especially."

"I'm really, truly arrogant of this squad astatine the moment," added Mielzynski. "I'm arrogant of the squad effort, of however everyone is supporting each different and pushing each other, and I americium truthful incredibly excited to spot this extent successful Canada.

"This play we had 3 girls successful the apical 10, 4 successful the apical 15 and six successful the apical 30. Today, we had 3 [slalom] girls successful the apical 13 and that is incredibly special; it's been a portion since that happened."

WATCH | Nullmeyer, Mielzynski spot wrong apical 10:

Teammates Amelia Smart and Laurence St-Germain were 13th and 22nd of 28 finishers. Smart started with bib 33 and attacked the archetypal tally hard connected the mode to posting her career-best finish.

"My archetypal tally felt coagulated and flowy," Smart said. "The people was a spot rutted by the clip I went down but it was a large tally regardless."

Teammate Amelia Smart started with bib 33 and attacked the archetypal tally hard, finishing successful 7th earlier the flip and 13th wide aft the 2nd for her career-best finish.

'Second tally I did cleanable everything'

"My archetypal tally felt coagulated and flowy," says Amelia. "The people was a spot rutted by the clip I went down but it was a large tally regardless."

Vlhova called the contention " big fight" aft criticizing people conditions pursuing days of snowfall successful the Slovenian resort.

"This greeting I was a small spot aggravated due to the fact that erstwhile I saw conditions, they were not, like, perfect, not similar World Cup race," Vlhova said.

"Second tally I did cleanable everything. In the extremity it is different victory, truthful I'm blessed due to the fact that my team, they bash everything for maine to beryllium successful cleanable shape."

It was the Slovakian's 25th vocation win. She leads the subject standings by a monolithic 240 points from runner-up Shiffrin. The American, however, remained successful the wide lead, 35 points up of Vlhova.

World Cup and satellite slalom champion Katharina Liensberger of Austria besides straddled a gross successful her 2nd run.

No spectators were allowed astatine the event, which had been moved from different Slovenian resort, Maribor, due to the fact that of a deficiency snow.

The adjacent contention is simply a nighttime slalom successful Schladming, Austria, connected Tuesday successful an lawsuit relocated from Flachau, which has been deed by a caller emergence successful coronavirus infections.