At the end of the year in Lienz, Mikaela Shifrrin flexes her muscles again and wins confidently in the slalom. Lena Dürr shines in second place. Emma Aicher experiences a complete blackout.
Mikaela Shiffrin had already left the competition in the East Tyrolean mountains at half time. In the second run, the exceptional American athlete brought her lead to the finish and celebrated 2.34 seconds ahead of the strong Lena Dürr in Lienz. “It was really an exceptionally good run, perhaps the best of this slalom season,” said Shiffrin at the ARD microphone after the first round.
Courageous second run: Dürr dupes Vlhová
Like many others, Lena Dürr didn’t have an optimal first run, but was only 0.34 seconds behind third place. “More attack would have been necessary. But everything is still possible in the second,” announced Dürr – and delivered completely.
Thanks to courage and technique, the 32-year-old clearly replaced favorite Petra Vlhová at the top. The Slovakian, who won in Courchevel before Christmas, moved up from tenth place. But Dürr defied the deteriorating conditions and clearly took the lead, which was only taken away from her by Shiffrin at a considerable distance. The Swiss Michelle Gisin came third.
“The tenths of a second were on my side this time and it was a lot of fun,” said Dürr in an ARD interview after the race: “The full attack was a success. It was a flow from top to bottom.”
More perfect Annual financial statements for Shiffrin
Meanwhile, Shiffrin celebrated the perfect end to the year. The 28-year-old won the giant slalom on Thursday and also competed in a different league. The two-time Olympic champion leads both the overall World Cup and the slalom competition.
Dürr started the season with two podium places and a fourth place, but she was eliminated early in Courchevel, France, before Christmas. In the Slalom World Cup she remains in third place behind Vlahova and Shiffrin.
German déjà vu: Aicher scores the first goal
Dürr’s teammate Emma Aicher experienced a complete blackout. The 20-year-old, who missed the second round of the giant slalom at the same place on Thursday, entered the first gate just a second after the start and was eliminated. Andrea Filser in Courchevel and Romed Baumann on Thursday in Bormio had exactly the same mishaps.
Filser didn’t finish her run in Lienz either. Newcomer Luisa Mangold also dropped out on the course, Jessica Hilzinger missed the second round in 38th place.