‘The sky is the limit now’: Ljutic decimates Courchevel field to claim third Slalom win in four

Zrinka Ljutic (CRO/Atomic) sent a warning to the rest of the best as she dominated the final World Cup Slalom ahead of next week’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

In charge after run one in Courchevel on Thursday afternoon, Ljutic flew down in the evening under floodlights to grab victory by a huge 1.26 seconds. The 20-year-old now has three wins in her past four World Cup Slaloms – all recorded when leading after run one – and will head to Saalbach, as one of the big favorites for world gold.

Most would have highlighted the Giant Slalom as the race Sara Hector (SWE/Head) will be targeting at those World Championships but after grabbing second in Courchevel – her best ever World Cup Slalom finish and her second Slalom podium in a row – the Swede may have to reassess.

Germany’s Lena Duerr will also have a bounce in her step leaving the French Alps. Eighth after run one, the 33-year-old risked it all and was rewarded with third place, 1.28 seconds behind the winner.

Katharina Liensberger (AUT/Rossignol) finished fourth for the third race in a row, while Camille Rast (SUI/Head) defied recent illness to climb into fifth, thanks to a swift second effort. That was enough for the Swiss skier to hold on to the Crystal Globe lead, although her advantage has been cut to just 41 points by the red-hot Ljutic.

Meanwhile, Mikaela Shiffrin’s (USA/Atomic) quest for World Cup win No.100 will have to wait a little while. Delighted just to be racing for the first time in 60 days, following the nasty puncture wound she suffered in Killington, the American megastar was understandably a little race rusty.

Fifth after run one, Shiffrin slipped down to end 10th, but warned she will be all the better for having a race under her belt as she chases world championship gold number eight.  

‘Don’t wake me up’

Shiffrin versus Ljutic may well be one of the highlights of the Saalbach World Championships, and the Croatian youngster certainly gave the French fans a taste of her fearless skills.

Third out of the gate in run one, Ljutic found a blend of control and aggression that escaped many to take a healthy 0.19 lead into the evening run. Then, despite that advantage having grown to more than a second and having watched a number of big names ski out in front of her, Ljutic jumped out under the lights and took the hill on.

“There were some tracks (at the top) which I got caught in and then I just wanted to push. And I was like ‘Ah, screw it, I’ve probably already lost my lead’ so I tried to push all the way down,” Ljutic said with a smile.

“I am so happy, I think it still didn’t get to my head. It was so turbulent.”

Turbulent maybe, super-fast definitely. After three second places in a row at the end of last season, she has undoubtedly learned how to win. Quite remarkably, all three of her first World Cup wins have come when leading after run one. That compares to a general women’s World Cup average of little more than 50% of first run leaders who turn such advantages into victories.

“Honestly, I do like it. It gives me a sense of security knowing that my skiing was really enough after the first run. I can sort of trust myself more if I lead after the first run. I think it’s also easier to push, because you push for the win and then you go all in,” she explained.

“I could not imagine at the beginning of the season I would get all these wins and that I would adapt to the new material so well. I think the sky is the limit now.

“I am living the dream… don’t wake me up.

Hector a Slalom threat

Hector is another skiing on a cloud right now. After waiting 14 seasons for her first World Cup Slalom podium, achieved a year ago in Flachau, the reigning Olympic GS champion now has to admit she is a fully-fledged slalom skier.

“I would have been super happy with sixth place and now I am in second, that’s crazy,” said Hector who sat seventh after run one.

“I did not expect that today. I didn’t really have the feeling for it but apparently it was fast. Maybe it was difficult to have really nice skiing here.”

Perfect timing for Duerr

Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head) was another who seemed to have found her groove on the Courchevel piste. Second quickest in run one, the Swiss crowd favorite was building on the almost nine-tenths-of-a-second advantage she had on Hector when she unexpectedly skied out at the top of run two.

That left the door open for Duerr to grab her third Slalom podium of the season. Not that she was imagining it.

Coming after she failed to finish in Kranjska Gora and ended 10^th in Flachau, it is perfect timing for the German.

“Yeah, the last races haven’t been like we all wanted it, like the team wanted it, like I wanted it and now it’s a good last result before we start the World Championships next weekend.”

Shiffrin tuning up

Shiffrin knows just how she feels.

“It was a really good, or a very important step in my recovery, to see how I am stacking up with the top skiers in the world,” Shiffrin said. “To see what I can work on to improve my skiing before World Championships."

“The top women they are just skiing amazing. I really appreciate watching them and I am so happy to be back competing with them. Hopefully I get faster in the next two weeks.

“When I watched the video from my first run, it was a little bit of my rhythm or timing to catch the track in the right way. I was just fighting it a little bit and that’s not something I could fix for today. I had to race today to know that.”

The 2025 World Championships women’s Slalom will take place on 15 February. See you there.