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Female skiers from Austria have given a strong sign of life on the Zauberberg. First, Katharina Liensberger, who missed her first World Cup victory in the slalom match at home in Semmering by a very narrow margin. On Tuesday night, the Austrian had to admit defeat to first ever Swiss winner Michelle Gisin by just eleven hundredths. Halftime leader Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) was third, Slovakian Petra Vlhova successfully defended her lead in the World Cup overall in fourth. Kathi Huber from St. Georgen was in the top ten.
Nothing for weak nerves
One day after the dramatic scenes of storm foehn on the abandoned giant slalom, the illuminated slalom turned into a sports thriller. At halftime, Shiffrin was just two hundredths ahead of Gisin, while Liensberger and Truppe were significantly behind as third and fourth respectively. Unexpectedly, Vlhova came in sixth with a significant deficit, having won the last five slalom before Semmering.
The Vlhova series came to an end
In the highly exciting decision, some series then went down the neck. Especially positive for the winner Gisin and Liensberger: thanks to the fastest time, the Austrian carved out after five third places in the World Cup for the first time in second place. With her first World Cup victory, exactly eight years after her World Cup debut in Semmering, Gisin ended the long negative streak of Swiss women in slalom after 18 years. The last Swiss slalom winner before her was Marlies Öster in Berchtesgaden in January 2002.
Shiffrin (19) and Vlhova (9), who had shared their victories in the previous 28 World Cup slalom, were left empty-handed this time. For Vlhova, the undefeated year in this discipline came to an end.
“I’m very happy with second place,” Liensberger said after a dream race. “It’s not first place, but it feels like a win,” he said, after five-thirds, celebrating his first second place. While Shiffrin was also left behind, only Gisin prevented Vorarlberg’s wife from jumping to the top.
With a heart on top
“Michelle did a great job. It really wasn’t easy anymore with the many tracks, I really had to push myself to the limit,” Liensberger said with a smile and thanked his mental coach and ÖSV president Peter Schröcksnadel. “He recommended skiing from my heart. Then I let go of the ski and pushed hard.”
Gisin looked visibly relieved after being on top for the first time in her 144th World Cup race. “Finally they don’t ask us about that anymore”, of course I was happy about the end of the long slalom drought. “It was an absolutely perfect day.”
Despite falling back to sixth place, the troop was satisfied, having contested the race with their “fear number” 1 “That was so bad at the premiere a year ago in Lienz (position 18, note). That’s why I slept badly this time and I was very nervous, “said the relieved Carinthian, happy for her best result of the season after two 7th places at Levi. “Still, I still drive a little on the handbrake.”
I found the throttle
While Franziska Gritsch, seventh at halftime, couldn’t make the decision, Katharina Huber advanced from 20th to 10th and was the third best of the six ÖSV riders who qualified for the final even without the injured Bernadette Schild. “I stopped completely in the first race. The second was much better,” explained the Austrian hometown hero. Chiara Mair went from 10th to 12th place and explained it with persistent headaches. Göstling’s Katharina Gallhuber completely ruined her second career and was only 26th.
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