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Petra Vlhová entered the new year with the best slalom result of the season, despite several complications.
The Slovakian skier took her fifth consecutive podium finish in Zagreb, Croatia, where she hasn’t missed once since 2019. Unlike the previous three seasons, when she successfully mastered slalom as a snow queen, this year she was had to settle for a silver medal.
“I’m a bit disappointed, but I’m happy with second place, given that I didn’t get on the podium in the last race. I’m happy to be second in slalom for the first time this season, but I always want to win. I was sorry for the first lap, there I made a big mistake on the bottom section. I was angry, but I’m happy to have confirmed my position in the second.” summed up after the first race in Zagreb.
She was robbed of the crown and title of queen by American Mikaela Shiffrin, who is putting on a streak of five triumphs in a row. Her qualities were also appreciated by Petra Vlhová: “Mikaela is very strong this season. If you want to beat her, you have to ride perfectly in both laps. I made a mistake in the first one.”
Petra Vlhová, Mikael Shiffrinová, Anna Swennová-Larssonová
Source: TASR
The athletes have already completed six of the eleven World Cup slaloms. The Beijing gold medalist and reigning champion of the small globe finished on the podium in four races of the most challenging discipline, narrowly missing out twice as she finished in fourth place. While still missing the top spot in her collection, she feels progress.
‘Each race involves me more and more, after all I know how to train something in training, but the race is about something else. I feel like it’s getting better and better.’ He also sees progress getting used to the new skis, with which he has had some problems since the beginning of the season. “We are friends, but not yet best. I have to get used to the races a little more, because already in training I feel good. I just need to run outside.’
Hope to see more snow soon
The first race of this year gave most people a hard time. A third of the competitors, including Martina Dubovská, did not finish the opening round and seven others failed to finish in the second. Even well-known faces from the stages found themselves on the verge of elimination, such as Germany’s Lena Dürrová or the Austrian Katharina Liensbergerová. Women downhill with higher start numbers also had significant losses.
The spring weather didn’t spare the remains of the necessary snow on the track, which in turn didn’t spare the athletes. Even before the start, Petra Vlhová was also worried about the progress of the slalom. “When I saw what the first turn was like, I was a little scared that it wasn’t bordering on fair play. But the track was quite nice. Of course, it was a little broken, but it was fine. I saw some kids in TV, I paid attention to some sections. I also paid attention to what the coaches were saying. Especially the underside.”
This season, the hot weather has plagued several organizers of the World Cup and also its participants, depriving them not only of the races, but also of the space for training or preparation before the race at key moments.
“It’s terrible for me because I do winter sports. There’s only one slope, there’s nothing else. I tried not to take it as a complication. At least I made a few corners during the ride. The only snow-covered climb is the one of the race, so I had no other choice.
So my schedule was a little different. I tried to warm up more in the areas for the competitors. It’s sad, but I’m glad we could at least race. And so I hope we’ll see more snow soon.”
Petra Vlhová will start the second slalom in Zagreb, Croatia at 15:00 with the starting number one. The second round is scheduled at 18:00.
