Shiffrin smokes the competition in Sestriere slalom

By Published On: December 11th, 2016Comments Off on Shiffrin smokes the competition in Sestriere slalom

It has been more than 10 years since Sestriere hosted a women’s World Cup slalom and giant slalom, and the ladies put on a great show for the thousands of fans at this weekend’s event. On Sunday, the U.S. Ski Team’s Mikaela Shiffrin proved once again that she is the one to beat in slalom, winning her sixth consecutive slalom race and her 23rd career World Cup.

It was not an easy start to the day. The first run course set was tough, knocking out about 25 percent of the field. Shiffrin skied the first run course fast enough to take an early lead, but Slovakian Veronika Velez Zuzulova was hot on her heels with just 0.12 seconds between her and the American.

“It was not perfect, that’s for sure,” Shiffrin said after her first run. “I was pretty stiff, so I was a little bit bummed with my skiing. But I have another run, so we’ll see what happens.”

ALPINE SKIING - FIS WC SestriereShiffrin’s coach Mike Day set the second run course, and the American took advantage and decisively increased her lead. She channelled her first run frustrations into a fiery second run that earned her the win by 1.09 seconds.

“I took some free runs before second run and tried to find a solid feeling that I could rely on. And then when I went out of the gate second run, I just tried to make speed on every gate and never let up, and that mentality helped me a lot,” she shared.

Her excitement was obvious has she came into the finish area and punched the air in happiness. With her victory, she retains the leader’s bib in slalom and continues to lead the overall ranking with 498 points.

Second and third place for the day were Velez Zuzulova and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in an exact repeat of the Killington World Cup slalom podium. Velez Zuzulova is one of the few athletes who has been around long enough to have raced on the slope several times including the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

“Second run I had a really good start, but on the lower part, I think I was too straight and it was a little bit more terrain than I was expecting, so I lost a lot of time,” she explained.

Holdener found herself back on the podium and said it was the best part of the day.

“I had some troubles in the course, so I’m happy that I fought for the podium, but I could do it better,” she said.

The U.S. Ski Team’s Resi Stiegler had a solid result, landing in 15th place with a total time of 1:41.36. Lila Lapanja hiked on her first run after stumbling in the last few gates of the course, and did not qualify for a second run. Megan McJames also did not qualify for a second run.

The top Canadian for the day was Erin Mielzynski, who finished in 21st place. Laurence St. Germain, Valerie Grenier and Marie-Michele Gagnon did not qualify for a second run.

Women’s action continues in Val d’Isere next week with the ladies’ downhill and alpine combined.


Top 10

  1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
  2. Veronika Velez Zuzulova (SVK) – Salomon / Salomon / Salomon
  3. Frida Hansdotter (SWE) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
  4. Petra Vlhova (SVK) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
  5. Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Head / Head / Head
  6. Sarka Strachova (CZE) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
  7. Michelle Gisin (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
  8. Nina Loeseth (NOR) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
  9. Melanie Meillard (SUI) – Rossignol / Rossignol / Rossignol
  10. Maren Skjoeld (NOR) – Voelkl / Marker / Dalbello

Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time Diff. FIS Points
 1  1  6535237 SHIFFRIN Mikaela 1995 USA  49.22  48.58  1:37.80  0.00
 2  4  705287 VELEZ ZUZULOVA Veronika 1984 SVK  49.34  49.55  1:38.89  +1.09  8.02
 3  5  516280 HOLDENER Wendy 1993 SUI  49.74  49.27  1:39.01  +1.21  8.91
 4  3  505679 HANSDOTTER Frida 1985 SWE  49.52  49.57  1:39.09  +1.29  9.50
 5  7  425771 LOESETH Nina 1989 NOR  50.00  49.53  1:39.53  +1.73  12.74
 6  13  516284 GISIN Michelle 1993 SUI  49.77  49.86  1:39.63  +1.83  13.47
 7  6  705423 VLHOVA Petra 1995 SVK  49.65  50.13  1:39.78  +1.98  14.58
 8  9  505760 PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria 1986 SWE  50.55  49.51  1:40.06  +2.26  16.64
 9  2  155415 STRACHOVA Sarka 1985 CZE  49.75  50.41  1:40.16  +2.36  17.37
 10  15  56032 SCHILD Bernadette 1990 AUT  50.42  50.13  1:40.55  +2.75  20.25
 11  43  516528 MEILLARD Melanie 1998 SUI  50.19  50.39  1:40.58  +2.78  20.47
 12  19  506341 WIKSTROEM Emelie 1992 SWE  50.46  50.32  1:40.78  +2.98  21.94
 13  24  425981 SKJOELD Maren 1993 NOR  50.36  50.60  1:40.96  +3.16  23.26
 14  16  296509 CURTONI Irene 1985 ITA  50.68  50.50  1:41.18  +3.38  24.88
 15  11  537772 STIEGLER Resi 1985 USA  50.88  50.48  1:41.36  +3.56  26.21
 16  18  56315 TRUPPE Katharina 1996 AUT  51.03  50.35  1:41.38  +3.58  26.36
 17  35  56367 GALLHUBER Katharina 1997 AUT  51.03  50.65  1:41.68  +3.88  28.56
 18  22  206279 GEIGER Christina 1990 GER  51.32  50.56  1:41.88  +4.08  30.04
 19  46  206536 WALLNER Marina 1994 GER  51.64  50.32  1:41.96  +4.16  30.63
 20  48  56253 HUBER Katharina 1995 AUT  51.88  50.28  1:42.16  +4.36  32.10
 21  17  106961 MIELZYNSKI Erin 1990 CAN  51.08  51.10  1:42.18  +4.38  32.25
 22  38  225525 TILLEY Alexandra 1993 GBR  51.61  50.91  1:42.52  +4.72  34.75
 23  41  206532 SCHMOTZ Marlene 1994 GER  51.65  50.97  1:42.62  +4.82  35.48
 24  31  297601 BRIGNONE Federica 1990 ITA  51.42  51.23  1:42.65  +4.85  35.71
 25  26  296354 COSTAZZA Chiara 1984 ITA  51.62  51.09  1:42.71  +4.91  36.15
 26  14  196726 BARTHET Anne-Sophie 1988 FRA  52.00  50.76  1:42.76  +4.96  36.52
 27  44  315187 IGNJATOVIC Nevena 1990 SRB  51.90  51.20  1:43.10  +5.30  39.02
 28  32  516138 GUT Lara 1991 SUI  51.11  52.01  1:43.12  +5.32  39.17
 29  42  197319 BAUD MUGNIER Adeline 1992 FRA  51.86  51.30  1:43.16  +5.36  39.46
Did not start 1st run
 54  155699 PAULATHOVA Katerina 1993 CZE
 53  25096 GUTIERREZ Mireia 1988 AND
 47  516504 DANIOTH Aline 1998 SUI
Did not qualify for 2nd run
 59  299276 BASSINO Marta 1996 ITA
 58  405138 JELINKOVA Adriana 1995 NED
 57  538284 MCJAMES Megan 1987 USA
 55  107613 GRENIER Valerie 1996 CAN
 52  56388 LIENSBERGER Katharina 1997 AUT
 51  155728 DUBOVSKA Martina 1992 CZE
 50  196803 MOUGEL Laurie 1988 FRA
 40  107427 ST-GERMAIN Laurence 1994 CAN
 39  539927 LAPANJA Lila 1994 USA
 37  485637 ALOPINA Ksenia 1992 RUS
 33  206701 WILLIBALD Elisabeth 1996 GER
 8  105269 GAGNON Marie-Michele 1989 CAN
Did not finish 2nd run
 10  206355 DUERR Lena 1991 GER
Did not finish 1st run
 61  35079 SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen 1982 ARG
 60  35089 SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena 1984 ARG
 56  56199 KAPPAURER Elisabeth 1994 AUT
 49  56333 MAIR Chiara 1996 AUT
 45  56217 BRUNNER Stephanie 1994 AUT
 36  306249 HASEGAWA Emi 1986 JPN
 34  485802 TKACHENKO Ekaterina 1995 RUS
 30  206487 WIESLER Maren 1993 GER
 29  516334 CHABLE Charlotte 1994 SUI
 28  565320 FERK Marusa 1988 SLO
 27  56143 GRUENWALD Julia 1991 AUT
 25  515997 FEIERABEND Denise 1989 SUI
 23  296259 MOELGG Manuela 1983 ITA
 21  565401 BUCIK Ana 1993 SLO
 20  506146 SWENN-LARSSON Anna 1991 SWE
 12  55759 KIRCHGASSER Michaela 1985 AUT

Share This Article

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