American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin won the second slalom in Levi (Finland) on Sunday, a first victory this season allowing the American to further improve her absolute record of success in the Alpine Skiing World Cup.
Her great rival in slalom, the Slovakian Petra Vlhova, had dominated the slalom on Saturday and was well in the lead at the end of the first run on Sunday but she straddled in the second run, letting the victory slip away.
Mikaela Shiffrin, five-time winner of the big crystal globe, beat the Croatian Leona Popovic, second at 18 hundredths, and the German Lena Dürr (at 30 hundredths). She thus signs her first podium of the season and her 89th World Cup success, improving her absolute record which she has held since March.
“You should never give up,” responded Shiffrin after the race. “I wanted to tell Petra and her team that they deserved the victory today, she was unlucky.”
The young Chiara Pogneaux, 21 years old and the only Frenchwoman qualified in the second round, finished 13th (2 sec 19), her best result in the World Cup.
The Alpine Skiing World Cup is scheduled to continue on November 18 for women with the first descents of the season planned on a new stage between Zermatt (Switzerland) and Cervinia (Italy). The men's downhills planned for Saturday and Sunday were canceled due to heavy snowfall.