Alpine Skiing World Cup | Mikaela Shiffrin, who else?

Mikaela Shiffrin began the defense of her big crystal globe on Saturday morning. The American managed to dethrone the queen of Levi, Petra Vlhova, to seize her 75^e career World Cup victory.

Even though Shiffrin won the cumulative championship and was the most versatile skier last season, it was still the Slovak who was the best slalomer in the world. She had also won the first two races of 2021, in Finland.

Nevertheless, expectations were huge for the American. Not only because of her results obtained last winter, but because she herself had set the bar very high during training camp.

The conditions were sublime in the Finnish twilight and the reindeer were waiting to see who would deserve them.

During the first round, it was Lena Duerr who stood out the most. The German, who caused some upset last season, was motivated to overturn the established order. Although the general trend of the day suggested slower times than in the past, the 31-year-old clocked a time of 54.48 seconds. The one who wore bib number one remained in the lead throughout the first run.

For their part, Shiffrin and Vlhova respectively took the third and fourth provisional ranks. The two favorites had trouble in the third sector of the course, the steepest of the track.

Shiffrin was looking for her first win at Levi since 2019. She also wanted to hit the 75-win plateau.

Since the start of her career, one of the great strengths of the 27-year-old skier has been her ability to adapt and her way of turning her weaknesses into strengths. She proved it again in a run that sets the tone for a season that could be historic if she keeps winning and closing in on Lindsey Vonn’s 82 wins and Ingemar Stenmark’s ultimate record of 86.

In the second run, Shiffrin was intractable and stood out in the famous third section. At this time, Vlhova was in the lead, but Shiffrin took 28 hundredths of a second on her rival in this part of the course to finally lead her by 20 hundredths.

All that remained was to see what Anna Swenn Larsson and Lena Duerr still had in the tank, the last two skiers to set off. The Swede slipped between the American and the Slovak, while the German shot herself in the foot in the third sector to slip to the foot of the podium.

Shiffrin therefore deserved her fifth coronation at Levi and it was she who was able to take the break with Santa Claus and the reindeer, always present for this first meeting of the season.

A race to forget for Laurence St-Germain

Laurence St-Germain returned home empty-handed on Saturday after failing to qualify for the second run. She took the 58^e row, with the penultimate time of the first session.

The last time the 28-year-old had suffered such a fate was at this same mountain, in 2019.

Fortunately, the Quebecer will be able to put this experience behind her quickly, since the skiers will return to the track on Sunday morning.

For his part, Ali Nullmeyer obtained the best Canadian result with a 14^e square. The Ontarian was the national team’s best slalomer last season and this 24-year-old gem is starting the season on the right foot.

Amelia Smart, for her part, took the 27^e rank.

Young Kiki Richardson did not qualify for the second run.