Vlhova Beats Shiffrin in Slalom Race to Claim her 30th World Cup Victory at Courchevel, France

Slovakian race skier Petra Vlhova beat Mikaela Shiffrin in a nail biting finish in Slalom at the World Cup in Courchevel, France, on Thursday, December 21, 2023. It was clear after the first run that this race was going to be decided between Vlhova and Shiffrin. There was 0.17 seconds separating the two skiers, with Shiffrin in the lead with 55:24 seconds. The next best skier, Katharina Liensberger from Austria, was more than a whole second behind Shiffrin, her teammate Katharina Truppe in fifth 1.66 seconds behind Shiffrin, while wedged in between the Austrians was Shiffrin’s teammate Paula Moltzan.

In an interview with Swiss TV station SRF, Shiffrin said about her first run: “I felt very good with my skiing but I would say the conditions are pretty challenging. Somehow the surface was insulated so it was breaking quite a lot, especially coming off of the pitch onto the flat. The whole second half of the course is not much surface to push on, so it was a really big advantage to start with bib 1 I would say. I am happy to be in the lead. It’s not a big gap to Petra. I think there could be some pretty big changes in the second run.”

A Slalom race consists of two runs, with the combined time counting. The second run is executed in reverse order, meaning that Mikaela Shiffrin, who was leading after the first run, would go last.

Fifth-last skier, Katharina Truppe went down the course in a smooth run without any mistakes, catapulting herself into the lead. With four skiers to go, there was certainly a possibility she would not end up on the podium, but Paula Moltzan made a mistake halfway down the course, which cost her the lead, putting her 0.58 seconds behind Truppe and 0.02 seconds behind Truppe’s teammate Katharina  Gallhuber, who ultimately finished in fourth and Moltzan in fifth.

Third-placed Katharina Liensberger had 0.60 second-lead from the first run but got caught on a Slalom pole, leading her to trip up on the following Slalom pole, costing her almost two seconds and any chance for a top finish. She did manage to finish the race, but her time was only enough for 18th place.

Petra Vlhova had almost 1.5 seconds lead from run 1 and flew down the course in a smooth and effortless run, showing plenty of aggression, finishing an incredible 2.06 seconds ahead of Austria’s Truppe.

With only Shiffrin left to go, the podium was pretty much clear but the million-dollar question was could the American best the Slovakian skier’s time? Shiffrin was a bit slower on the top than Vlhova but still had a fraction of a lead on Vlhova. The mid-section looked smooth but  the American could not quite show the aggression Vlhova had been able to show on the course at Courchevel.

• Related: Shiffrin Wins 90th FIS Alpine World Cup at Slalom Event in Killington, VT

Thirteen times in her career Vlhova has finished behind Shiffrin but today was the tenth time instead that Shiffrin finished behind the Slovakian. Vlhova admitted that she had some unfinished business after straddling a pole in Levi, Finland, last month when her bid for her second consecutive Slalom victory ended with a DNF. “It’s really important for me. In the last races, I was always there but something was missing. I don’t want to say ‘finally’, but after Levi, after the DNF, I was a little bit angry.”

“She [Vlhova] was stronger today, but I had some really good skiing. These are days you learn so much and to come away with a podium still, for me it’s really exciting, it keeps me fresh in a way. Petra is just an incredible slalom skier, an incredible skier. It’s not possible to beat her unless I’m at 100%.”
— Mikaela Shiffrin

It marks Shiffrin’s 145th World Cup podium out of 260 World Cup starts. So far this season, both Shiffrin and Vlhova have won two Slalom races. However, Vlhova’s DNF in Levi cost her valuable FIS points, relegating her to second place behind Shiffrin in the 23/24 World Cup standings so far. Third-placed in the season rankings, Lena Dürr, unfortunately, recorded a DNF on her first run when she straddled a Slalom pole mid-way down the race course, ending her hunt for FIS points.