‘Hammer time’ for Shiffrin as Levi kickstarts hotly anticipated slalom season
Nov 12, 2024·Alpine Skiing
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) may already have 60 Audi FIS World Cup slalom titles to her name. Her pre-season may have “been great” leaving her feeling “excited and energised” as she heads to Levi, Finland and a race slope she has triumphed on a record seven times already. But Shiffrin knows better than anyone that none of this will guarantee success when the women’s slalom season gets underway on Saturday 16 November at 10:00 CET.
“It's never obvious and it's never easy,” Shiffrin said.
Words that will surely encourage rivals including the ever-improving Lena Duerr (GER), the returning Swiss legend Wendy Holdener, last season’s rookie star Zrinka Ljutic (CRO) plus many more as they prepare to take on a woman who is on the brink of reaching a barely believable milestone.
Record chasing in Lapland
Saturday’s slalom kicks off a run of four women’s World Cup technical races in 16 days across three countries and two continents. Add on the fact that this schedule offers Shiffrin, currently on 97 World Cup wins, the possibility of hitting the fabled three figures in front of her home crowd in Killington, and you can see why she says, “it’s hammer time”.
First up, Levi, a place Shiffrin has grown to love since making her debut in 2012. Often host to a double-header in recent years, the 29-year-old has seven wins, four second places, a third, a fourth, a fifth and an eleventh in her 15 Lapland races so far.
Figures that would suggest win number 98 is unlikely to be far away. Especially given Petra Vlhova (SVK) the only competitor with a record to rival Shiffrin’s (the Slovakian has won six times in Finland) is not competing as she continues to chase full fitness after her knee injury.
“I am going to miss those battles on the slope,” Shiffrin admitted. She stopped Vlhova from winning both Levi slaloms last year. That was one of seven victories in 10 races for the USA superstar who took the slalom season title for a record eighth time.
But despite Vlhova’s absence there are plenty of others ready and raring to make Shiffrin wait as long as possible for her next moment of glory.
‘Everything feels really good’ for Duerr
Second to Shiffrin in the 2023/24 standings, Duerr is undeniably one of those the champion will have to watch. The 33-year-old not only appears to be getting better with every passing season, but she also has a stellar record in Finland, having finished third-second-fourth-fourth-third-third in her past six Levi slaloms.
A decision to add an off-season focus on the giant slalom seems to have paid dividends too.
“Everything feels really good, I had a good summer, everything went well. Training different disciplines is always good and GS has more speed, more dynamism and more power” said Duerr, who finished 10th in last month’s season-opening GS in Sölden, her best result in the discipline for 13 years.
“I hope this can transfer to the slalom too.”
Big names continue to shine
Holdener is another familiar name travelling to Levi full of optimism. One of the great big-stage performers, the two-time slalom Olympic medallist is unequivocal on her expectations as she returns to her favoured discipline after 10 months out dealing with injury and the tragic death of her brother.
With three of her 33 slalom podium finishes coming in Levi (she was second in 2016, 2019 and 2022), the Finnish crowd may well be once again celebrating the performances of one of the World Cup tour’s most enduring and popular racers.
Two other veteran performers also continue to show that age is increasingly just a number in Alpine ski racing. Fit, healthy and dedicated, true all-rounder Michelle Gisin (SUI) was the model of consistency last season finishing in the top-10 nine times in slalom. The 30-year-old starts her 13th season with the intention of once again racing across the disciplines.
Anna Swenn Larsson (SWE) will not be joining Gisin on any but the shortest of skis but the 33-year-old remains a huge threat in her favoured discipline. A win, two podium places and two top-fives in her final five races of last season is the form of a champion.
Ljutic a true rising star
Meanwhile a resurgent Katharina Liensberger (AUT) – the 2021 slalom world champion – is likely to lead the Austrian charge, but it is not all about the established stars.
Among a phalanx of youngsters looking to upend things, there is no doubt Ljutic, the 2023/24 Longines Rising Star, stands out.
The 20-year-old ended last season with three successive second-place finishes in the slalom before skiing out in the second run of the World Cup Finals when well-placed to grab a maiden victory.
“I left hungry because I really wanted to win last season,” Ljutic said.
She may not have long to wait.
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