Then again, maybe not. The crowd, too. Even her competitors were basically resigned to her win. Sarka Strachova of Czech Republic was third. “She’s in another class”. But the 31-year-old was beginning to find her rhythm when her left ski popped off. She was not hurt when she slid into the side netting, calling the wipeout “super annoying”.
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Shiffrin also was fastest in the second run with a time of 52.45 seconds, for a composite time of 1:40.18.
“I was really shocked”, Shiffrin said.
Know what? She wants to win by that margin again.
With memories of that late-race mishap still fresh, Shiffrin said she was jittery before the start of the slalom event. It was a mark that had stood since 1968.
The retired Schild also happens to be one of Shiffrin’s childhood idols. “I would hate to be in that position”. She said she used her anger and frustration as motivation in that race.
“I really love how she makes it (look) so easy to ski”, Hansdotter said.
“I came out of the flush low and fell on my inside ski”, she explained to reporters.
As Shiffrin buried her face in the snow, Gut watched in disbelief. At least, Hansdotter is hoping that’s the case.
On Saturday she prevailed by a 3.07 seconds, a record margin for women’s World Cup slalom. “I’m really excited to debut in speed”.
Shiffrin took the overall World Cup points lead with 180 points to 160 for Italy’s Federica Brignone and 150 for Swiss Lara Gut, who took Friday’s win after Shiffrin faltered.
In a post-race news conference, Shiffrin was asked point-blank why she’s such a good skier.
Mikaela Shiffrin made it two-for-two today, winning her second slalom this winter and fifth in a row stretching back to last season.
“Three great races, really”, said Shiffrin, who was carried off the slope on the shoulders of her teammates. “The GS was disappointing, but still a great race”. No American has won a World Cup race in Aspen since Tamara McKinney in 1981. “It’s a different slope, not so much terrain all over the place so I think there will be a lot less of a time gap”.
The reigning Olympic and world champion finished the course in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 39.81 seconds to beat Veronika Velez Zuzulova of Slovakia by 3.07 seconds. We will see in March.
Any friendly advice to make that happen?
“They’re like, ‘You know how to do it. Why are you nervous?'” Shiffrin recounted.
Sunday’s race was nearly identical.
“I think she is so stable”, Strachova said.
Those nerves didn’t carry over to the course as she built up a big first-run advantage of 1.38 seconds. She made a miscalculation up top, but practices for those sorts of situations.
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“When I saw myself fall, I was thinking, ‘What were you doing?’ I don’t fall very often”, Shiffrin said. That’s Lindsey Vonn’s territory. “I nearly went off course”.
