ALPINE SKI. Defending overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin won her third reindeer and slalom race at Levi (FIN) to bring her total World Cup slalom victories tally of 33 well within striking distance of all-time leader Marlies Schild (35). The American added to her livestock collection in Lapland with “Mr. Gru”, named after the character in the film Despicable Me, who now joins her herd with Rudolph (2013) and Sven (2016).

Mikaela Shiffrin of USA during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Slalom on November 17, 2018 in Levi Finland. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom)

The opening Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup slalom race of the 2018/19 season was slightly delayed and the start moved down to the reserve position due to wind in the morning. Despite warm temperatures, the course crew and organisers pulled off an exceptional event.

Mikaela Shiffrin of USA takes 1st place and poses with a reindeer during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Slalom on November 17, 2018 in Levi Finland. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom)

“I was even surprised at how good the course felt with the warm conditions. The snow held up really well, and I was able to really push. I had a little bit of a scary moment on the top of the pitch, but I kept fighting and made it to the finish. That was fun,” said Shiffrin following her win. “It’s the first race of the season, so there’s some nerves, there’s some excitement. Nobody knows how fast they are. So it’s always a really nice challenge, and it’s a nice slope.”

Crowds during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Slalom on November 17, 2018 in Levi Finland. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom)

A more technical and offset course in the second run than the direct first set made for an exciting challenge for the world’s fastest female skiers.

The 2017 victor Petra Vlhova of Slovakia gave chase in the second run to improve her position from third to second place. But she was still just over half a second shy of Shiffrin in the end. Bernadette Schild of Austria skied the fastest second run to leap a surprising nine positions from 12th place after the first run onto the podium in third place.

Adeline Mugnier of France in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Slalom on November 17, 2018 in Levi Finland. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom)

Olympic gold medalist Frida Hansdotter of Sweden was in close touch of Shiffrin after the first run, just 0.14-seconds back, but she struggled on the pitch in the second run and finished fourth on the day. Still, the Swedish team had a strong showing with four skiers finishing in the top 15. Sara Hector, more recognizable for her successes in giant slalom racing, showed her prowess in slalom by finishing 15th with bib 44.

The men take over the Levi Black slope on Sunday for the opening race of their season. The ladies now move on to Killington (USA) where they will contest giant slalom and slalom next weekend on 24-25th November.

FIS alpine
17.11.2018

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