KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin straddled a gate and didn’t finish the first run of a women’s World Cup slalom Sunday, with Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova leading the race.
Racing in falling snow, Shiffrin trailed her main rival by 0.47 seconds at the first checkpoint before the American’s left ski went the wrong side of a gate 24 seconds into her run.
It was a rare mishap for Shiffrin, who last straddled a gate in a World Cup race in the second run of a slalom on the same hill in Slovenia in January 2022, a month before the Beijing Olympics.
Shiffrin has been fighting a cold this week and finished in only ninth position in Saturday’s giant slalom. She then skipped the mandatory public bib draw for Sunday’s race.
After skiing out, Shiffrin congratulated Vlhova with a fist bump when she passed the leader’s seat.
All five slaloms this season have been won by either Shiffrin or Vlhova. After her three victories, Shiffrin leads the standings and the American will remain in that position even if Vlhova wins the race, though her advantage would be cut to just five points.
Seeking career win 31, Vlhova opened the race with a fast but not error-free effort with the Olympic champion wiping her goggles after finishing.
“I couldn’t see anything from the middle because of snow,” Vlhova said. “First section, last section were OK, but in the middle section I lost a little bit speed and (rhythm). But at the end it’s quite OK.”
Vlhova built a lead of 0.26 seconds over both Lena Duerr of Germany and Leona Popovic, who shared second place. The Croatian skier tumbled and lost a ski when passing the last gate but managed to finish.
Duerr is the only winner other than Shiffrin or Vlhova in the last 12 slaloms after triumphing in a race in the Czech Republic in January 2023.
Sara Hector of Sweden trailed by 0.71 in fourth, and Shiffrin’s teammate Paula Moltzan was fifth with the American having 0.80 to make up in the second run later Sunday.
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