Petra Vlhova won ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin in the slalom in Flachau, Austria. The American must wait for her 83rd career victory.
Two days after equaling Lindsey Vonn and her 82 World Cup victories, the American Mikaela Shiffrin was beaten by the Slovak Petra Vlhova on Tuesday evening in the slalom in Flachau (Austria).
Shiffrin entered the legend of alpine skiing at the age of 27 on Sunday by winning the giant of Kranjska Gora (Slovenia), his 6th success in seven races.
Under the spotlights of Flachau, her greatest rival managed to stop the unstoppable after another duel between the two champions, a great classic of recent seasons that has been somewhat forgotten this winter.
And for good reason, Petra Vlhova had not yet won a race this season, an incongruity for the Olympic slalom champion, 2019 giant world champion, and winner of the 2021 general classification.
After seven podiums, Vlhova (27) repaired this anomaly, with two superb runs, a cry of relief and arms raised in the finish air.
Despite her victory, Vlhova remains very far from Shiffrin in the general classification, at 399 points. Halfway through the season (19 races out of 38), the American is launched towards a fifth big crystal globe.
Shiffrin’s 83rd victory will therefore wait, as two speed stages present themselves (St Anton at the weekend, Cortina d’Ampezzo next week), with possible stalemates after two very busy weeks.
The American can also aim for a medal spree at the Courchevel/Méribel World Championships in less than a month (February 6-19).
Behind Vlhova and Shiffrin, the German Lena Dürr took 3rd place. Superb 3rd in the first round, the Croatian prodigy Zrinca Ljutic (18) discovered the pressure of those who play for the podium and straddled the second route.