Slovak Skier Petra Vlhová Takes Second Place in Killington World Cup Slalom, Mikaela Shiffrin Wins

Slovak skier Petra Vlhová finished in second place in Sunday’s World Cup slalom in Killington, USA. She lost 33 hundredths of a second to home winner Mikaela Shiffrin. The American claimed her 90th jubilee triumph in the prestigious series, thus improving her record. Swiss Wendy Holdener was third (+1.37).

news-item-description">Slovak skier Petra Vlhová took second place in the slalom in Killington. She was not enough for the American Mikaela Shiffrin, who claimed her second consecutive triumph on home soil this season.

Vlhová equaled her best from Killington, took second place in this American resort for the fifth time in her career and claimed her 69th podium in the WC. The Slovakian moved to second place in the discipline’s scoring and also in the overall ranking. With her 55th triumph in the slalom, the American confirmed her position as the leader of the overall ranking of the World Cup and of the current classification of the discipline.

Vlhová started in the first round with number six and had a slower start than Shiffrin. However, she kept the rhythm and had almost the same time with the American in the second interval. She presented herself in her typical aggressive style in the steeplechase, but lost in the end and placed third. The home five-time winner started with a three-pointer and got into an ideal pace from the first goals.

She had a slight hesitation before the second interval, but she showed a strong finish and gained two tenths of a second over Lena Dürrová. The German showed a dynamic drive, only the terrain unevenness caused her problems. Holdenerová and Popovičová were also close to the stage. Other female competitors were already significantly behind, the sixth domestic Paula Moltzanová had a deficit of 1.21 seconds to her representative colleague. The ride did not go well for the Austrian Katharine Liensberger, who dropped out. The Slovak skier representing the Czech Republic, Martina Dubovská, took the seventh position with a loss of 1.26 s.

In the second round, Holdener wanted to attack from the interim fourth position. The Swiss had a big lead over the previous leader Marta Rossetti from Italy. However, she gradually lost her rhythm, she spun just under the gate, but at the finish line it was enough for her to take first place. Vlhová caught the rhythm from the first goals and got into the right pace.

She also managed the steep part without hesitation and at the finish line she was more than a second ahead of Holdener. Dürrová had only nine hundredths to her credit and was already in the red at the second interval. The German had problems at the end and it wasn’t even enough for her on the podium. Going fast enough, Shiffrin took over on the steep and earned her sixth win at Killington.

“Thank you to the fans for being very noisy. They gave me energy that helped me a lot to win. It’s a special triumph for me in this place. I wanted to win very much and I’m glad I did it. I believe it was a good one show for the audience,” said Shiffrinová, who was the fastest in both rounds, for FIS television.

results of Sunday’s women’s WC slalom in Killington: 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 1:42.02 min.
2. Petra VLHOVÁ (SR) +0.33 s
3. Wendy Holdener (Switzerland) +1.37
4. Lena Dürrová (Nem.) +1.56
5. Marta Rossettiová (Italy) +1.74
6. Michelle Gisinová (Switzerland) +2.01
7. Andreja Slokarová (Slov.) +2.18
8. Paula Moltzanová (USA) +2.19
9. Sara Hector (Sweden) +2.25
10. Zrinka Ljutičová (Chor.) +2.26

overall order of the WC (after 5 out of 45 competitions): 1. Shiffrinová 350 b.
2. VLHOVA 266
3. Hector 224
4. Lara Gutová-Behramiová (Switzerland) 200
5. Dürrová 190
6. Holdenerová 131

ranking in slalom (3 out of 11): 1. Shiffrin 250
2. Dürrová 190
3. VLHOVA 180
4. Hectorová 124
5. Holdenerová 114
6. Leona Popovičová (Chor.) 107

news-item-description">In the 2023/24 World Cup in downhill skiing, Slovakia will be represented again by the Olympic slalom gold holder from Beijing 2022, Petra Vlhová, who is the strongest in slalom. In addition to the most winding discipline, she also plans to start in the giant slalom, she should include speed disciplines in her program only exceptionally.

2023-11-26 18:53:00
#Petra #Vlhová #won #podium #today #Mikaela #Shiffrinová #Sport.sk