Myhrer, Shiffrin Commence 2018 With Wins in Oslo
The World Cup tour kicked off the new year with a City Event hosted in Oslo, Norway, Monday. Under the lights and in thick fog, top men and women–16 of each gender–competed in a paneled parallel slalom. The venue was built as an extension of the Holmenkollen ski jump that lies outside the city center. American Mikaela Shiffrin took the win in the ladies’ race over Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in the final. Sweden’s Andre Myhrer won the men’s competition over Austria’s Michael Matt, who crashed midway down the course in the final head-to-head run.
Myhrer has proven time and time again that he is strong in the city event setting. Before Monday night, he had raced four city events and made it to at least the small final (the battle for third place) in every race. Oslo brought him his first city event victory and the eighth World Cup win of his career.
“I’ve been fighting a lot with this discipline, but I’ve always been in the top,” he shared. “I’ve never managed to make the win, so I’m really happy to do it here in Holmenkollen…My grandfather was from Norway, so I felt his presence here today and really happy to come out with the win, of course.”
In the men’s small final, Germany’s Linus Strasser went head to head with Great Britain’s Dave Ryding. Strasser came out on top, taking third place. The German won the Stockholm city event in 2017, the only World Cup win of his career thus far.
For Shiffrin, the night marked her 37th career win. She is now tied with retired Austrian skier Marlies Schild in 6th place for all-time wins among women. She also added another 100 points to her lead over Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg in the overall standings. The German did not compete in the city event. The American recently dominated in the parallel event in Courchevel, France, and won the city event in Stockholm last year, so she is no stranger to winning this race format.
“I think it’s really exciting,” she said after the race. “You have to dig really deep especially with someone skiing right next to you, and I hope for the crowd who came out tonight, I hope it’s exciting for you guys. I know it’s foggy, but you got to see some action. It’s fun to have that different dynamic with the racing.”
Surprisingly, this was also Shiffrin’s first time racing in the Scandinavian nation.
“It’s so cool to be in Oslo,” the American said. “It’s my first time racing in Norway. My first time spending any time in Oslo, and it’s really a pleasure to be here, especially over the new year.”
While Shiffrin overtook Holdener for the win, Switzerland’s Melanie Meillard claimed third place over Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter in the small final. The Swiss athlete has been coming on strong since 2016, earning a string of top 10 results, and it seems like she is setting a different tone for 2018 with her first World Cup podium finish.
All athletes who competed in the event earned World Cup points for the slalom standings, overall standings and Nation Cup, but the race does not count toward the World Cup Start List (WCSL). The top four athletes earn the same points as in a regular race, while all losers of the quarter finals are awarded 40 points and all losers of the first round are awarded 15 points.
The tech athletes now head to Zagreb, Croatia, for the men’s and women’s slalom races on Jan. 3 and 4.
Men’s Top 4
1. Andre Mhyrer (SWE) – Head / Head / Head
2. Michael Matt (AUT) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
3. Linus Strasser (GER) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
4. Dave Ryding (GBR) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
Men’s Official Results
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | WC Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | 501017 | MYHRER Andre | 1983 | SWE | 100 |
2 | 4 | 54170 | MATT Michael | 1993 | AUT | 80 |
3 | 15 | 202451 | STRASSER Linus | 1992 | GER | 60 |
4 | 9 | 220689 | RYDING Dave | 1986 | GBR | 50 |
5 | 14 | 422082 | FOSS-SOLEVAAG Sebastian | 1991 | NOR | 40 |
5 | 12 | 511983 | AERNI Luca | 1993 | SUI | 40 |
5 | 10 | 511996 | YULE Daniel | 1993 | SUI | 40 |
5 | 1 | 53831 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 40 |
9 | 16 | 421483 | JANSRUD Kjetil | 1985 | NOR | 15 |
9 | 13 | 194364 | PINTURAULT Alexis | 1991 | FRA | 15 |
9 | 11 | 501111 | HARGIN Mattias | 1985 | SWE | 15 |
9 | 8 | 480736 | KHOROSHILOV Alexander | 1984 | RUS | 15 |
9 | 7 | 202462 | DOPFER Fritz | 1987 | GER | 15 |
9 | 5 | 293797 | GROSS Stefano | 1986 | ITA | 15 |
9 | 3 | 292491 | MOELGG Manfred | 1982 | ITA | 15 |
9 | 2 | 422304 | KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik | 1994 | NOR | 15 |
Women’s Top 4
1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
2. Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Head / Head / Head
3. Melanie Meillard (SUI) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
4. Frida Hansdotter (SWE) – Rossignol / Look / Rossignol
Women’s Official Results
Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | WC Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 6535237 | SHIFFRIN Mikaela | 1995 | USA | 100 |
2 | 3 | 516280 | HOLDENER Wendy | 1993 | SUI | 80 |
3 | 7 | 516528 | MEILLARD Melanie | 1998 | SUI | 60 |
4 | 4 | 505679 | HANSDOTTER Frida | 1985 | SWE | 50 |
5 | 11 | 425981 | SKJOELD Maren | 1993 | NOR | 40 |
5 | 8 | 206355 | DUERR Lena | 1991 | GER | 40 |
5 | 5 | 56032 | SCHILD Bernadette | 1990 | AUT | 40 |
5 | 2 | 705423 | VLHOVA Petra | 1995 | SVK | 40 |
9 | 16 | 506146 | SWENN LARSSON Anna | 1991 | SWE | 15 |
9 | 15 | 206536 | WALLNER Marina | 1994 | GER | 15 |
9 | 14 | 56315 | TRUPPE Katharina | 1996 | AUT | 15 |
9 | 13 | 296509 | CURTONI Irene | 1985 | ITA | 15 |
9 | 12 | 296354 | COSTAZZA Chiara | 1984 | ITA | 15 |
9 | 10 | 565401 | BUCIK Ana | 1993 | SLO | 15 |
9 | 9 | 515997 | FEIERABEND Denise | 1989 | SUI | 15 |
9 | 6 | 425771 | HAVER-LOESETH Nina | 1989 | NOR | 15 |