15 January 2020

Slovakia's Petra Vlhova makes it two in two as she topples Mikaela Shiffrin in the slalom again leaving Shiffrin still chasing Lindsey Vonn's record

Slovakia's Petra Vlhova has inflicted Mikaela Shiffrin's first back-to-back World Cup slalom defeats since 2017 as she topped the leaderboard in Flachau, Austria.

The defeat came just 10 days after Vlhova claimed a 1.31 second victory over Shriffin in the slalom in Zagreb, the largest of anyone over the American since 2014.

Giant slalom world champion Vlhova finished .43 seconds ahead of Shiffrin after two runs under the lights. 

Shiffrin could only scrape third place after Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson posted the quickest time of the day to take silver. This is the first time in three years that the American has finished outside the top two in a slalom event.

The Slovakian skier has now reduced Shiffrin's World Cup slalom advantage to 80 points although the American still leads by 273 in the overall competition.

24-year-old Vlhova, who is three months Shiffrin's junior, has been her only slalom rival in recent years and between them the pair have won the last 25 World Cup slaloms.

Despite a fierce rivalry between the duo, they embraced following the race with Shiffrin immediately congratulating the Slovakian.

She said: "I am happy to be on the podium again. I am disappointed with my skiing. But that’s ski racing.

"Her [Vlhova's] skiing is the best."

Shiffrin remains tied with the legendary Lindsay Vonn for the most world cup wins for a woman in a single discipline (43) although Vonn claimed hers in the downhill.

There are now four World Cup slaloms left this season with the next taking place in Maribor, Slovenia on February 16. World Cup leader Shiffrin is eyeing her seventh title but if Vlhova wins the remaining four and Shiffrin comes in second, the Slovakian will take the title in a tiebreaker.

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