Myhrer, Shiffrin Commence 2018 With Wins in Oslo

By Published On: January 1st, 2018Comments Off on 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.”

Image Credit: GEPA / Andreas Pranter

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

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About the Author: Gabbi Hall

A California native, Gabbi moved to Vermont to ski on the NCAA circuit for St. Michael’s College, where she served as team captain and studied journalism. Before joining Ski Racing, she worked as a broadcast TV producer and social media manager in higher education. She can be reached via email at gabbi@skiracing.com