Shiffrin skis to 40th World Cup slalom victory
Mar 16, 2019·Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin sealed the deal on her sixth slalom crystal globe on Saturday in Grandvalira Soldeu - El Tarter (AND) while picked up her 40th World Cup victory in the discipline. The result matches her with Ingemar Stenmark for the most World Cup slalom wins of all-time. In order to take the victory, Shiffrin had to overcome a 0.28-second deficit to Switzerland's Wendy Holdener following the first run. Despite a few slight mishaps, Shiffrin skied with poise down the steep lower pitch to claim the win by a very narrow 0.07 seconds.
Holdener showed that she is capable of giving serious chase as she continues to push for her career-first World Cup slalom win. She now has 22 podium finishes in the discipline and is likely to return as a serious contender next season along with Petra Vlhova of Slovakia who finished the race in third. All three race podium athletes finished in the season standing podium as well. Vlhova was runner-up in the slalom standings and Holdener placed third.
Chiara Costazza celebrated the final run of her career and finished the season in 15th place in the slalom ranking. The Italian veteran celebrated two World Cup podiums in her 144 starts including a slalom victory at Lienz in 2007. On Sunday, the tour will bid farewell to Olympic slalom champion Frida Hansdotter who announced her retirement and will ski her last race in the concluding giant slalom.
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