Petra Vlhova extends slalom domination with 5th World Cup win of the season after Mikaela Shiffrin straddles gate

Updated 09/01/2022 at 13:03 GMT

Petra Vlhova keeps getting the better of her rival Mikaela Shiffrin in their favourite discipline this season. Vlhova earned her fifth World Cup slalom win in six races while Shiffrin straddled a gate in the second run. It was the first time since 2018 that Shiffrin failed to complete a slalom race on the World Cup circuit.

Vlhova breaks Holdener heart with imperious second run to win at Kranjska Gora

Petra Vlhova continued her slalom domination with a fifth World Cup win of the season in her favourite discipline, after American rival Mikaela Shiffrin went out in the second run.

Shiffrin was third after the first run in Kranjska Gora and was in the middle of a blistering second run when she straddled a gate. It was the first time since January 2018 that the American failed to finish a race in her favourite discipline.

Vlhova finished 0.23 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener of Switzerland, who led after the first run and was seeking a first career victory in her 100th World Cup race in the discipline.

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Holdener puts in valiant effort but comes up just short

But Vlhova, who was second after the first run, proved too strong once again and Holdener now has 29 podium finishes in World Cup slaloms without a victory.

“I am a little bit sad for her because she’s all the time second,” Vlhova said. “But it is like this, this is our sport.”

Vlhova has now won five of the six slalom races this season, with only one more to go ahead of the Beijing Olympics. While she didn’t have to beat Shiffrin’s time on this occasion, the Slovakian did have to cope with tough conditions on the Podkoren course.

“This morning I was a little bit angry because when I saw the conditions, they were not perfect, not like a World Cup race,” Vlhova said. “I’m happy because it’s not so easy to win all the time. The second run I did perfect, everything, and in the end it’s another victory.”

For Shiffrin, it capped a disappointing weekend after she only finished seventh in a giant slalom on Saturday. The American still holds a slim lead over Vlhova in the overall World Cup standings, but there are big question marks about her current form after she recently recovered from the coronavirus.

The slalom duel between Vlhova and Shiffrin is expected to be one of the highlights of the Beijing Olympics, but the rivalry is becoming an increasingly one-sided affair this season.

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Kranjska Gora