Lienz (Austria) (AFP) – American ski superstar Mikaela Shiffrin extended her lead in the overall standings as she won a record-extending 92nd World Cup race on Thursday, easing to victory in the giant slalom at Lienz.
The 28-year-old was 0.38 seconds faster than Italy’s Federica Brignone, who produced a stunning second run but had left herself far too much to do after being 1.63sec slower than Shiffrin in the first leg.
“I had some good practice runs last week,” said Shiffrin.
“I was more prudent on the second leg but I succeeded in finishing, which is important.
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“I am really happy to have produced a good performance.
“On the second leg with three more gates, ‘Fede’ (Brignone) finished in front of me,” she added with a smile.
Shiffrin’s win — her 22nd in the discipline — boosted her overall points total to 800, Brignone is on 637.
The 33-year-old Italian, though, tops the giant slalom standings, moving on to 400 points and in front of Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami, who finished sixth.
Sweden’s Sara Hector slipped from second on the first leg to finish third, 0.45sec adrift of the five-time overall World Cup champion.
Petra Vlhova was another leading racer to endure a tough first leg, timing over 2sec slower than Shiffrin before like Brignone producing a far better second run.
The 28-year-old 2022 slalom Olympic champion finished seventh, 1.30sec off Shiffrin’s winning time.
Shiffrin will seek to extend her lead further when she contests Friday’s slalom at Lienz, a race she won on two previous occasions in 2017 and 2019. fby/lve/pi/bsp
