Laurence St-Germain was not let down. On Sunday in Levi, Finland, she showed her true colors. After a poor performance the day before, the Quebecer showed the full extent of her talent by carving out a place for herself in the top 10.
A fall during the first World Cup of the season on Saturday prevented her from achieving her good start. Disappointed, she was optimistic for the second competition of the weekend. On the one hand, because she felt she was in a good mood despite an imbalance at the entrance to the third section which prevented her from qualifying for the second round. On the other hand, because it was the Canadian coaches who organized the layout of the first run of the slalom on Sunday.
Since the start of his career, St-Germain has had a love-hate relationship with the Finnish mountains. Once again, this situation has proven itself. She is capable of the best and the worst.
After posting her worst result in three years on Saturday at the 2019 Levi World Cup, she skied inspiredly on Sunday morning to finish ninth.
She started on a good note, with a descent that allowed her to position herself at 14e provisional rank. Even if this track has several pitfalls, it seemed more permissive than the day before, especially in the cruel third portion. The route made by his trainer seemed to please him.
At this point, she was just over a second behind leader Mikaela Shiffrin.
During the second run, the athlete from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges opened the machine, especially in the second interval, which propelled him into the lead with 12 skiers to start.
If Saturday she left empty-handed in the middle of the day, she was able to sit on the huge leader’s chair for the first time this season.
At the start of the season, St-Germain had expressed their wish to return to the top 15 world and to get as close as possible to the group of seven in the lead. On Sunday, she was only 22 hundredths of a second behind Zrinka Ljutic and seventh place.
This is the 13e top 10 of St-Germain’s career.
Mikaela Shiffrin: Unstoppable
PHOTO ALESSANDRO TROVATI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
American Mikaela Shiffrin
Mikaela Shiffrin came from behind on Saturday to win the first race of the season. On Sunday, she decided to keep it simple by leading the competition from start to finish with a total time of 1:52.21.
The reigning Big Crystal Globe champion was untouchable from start to finish. She dominated both runs to grab her 76e career win, his 68e podium in slalom, his sixth victory in Levi and his second in two days.
It’s the first time since the giant and slalom in Lienz, Austria, over the holiday season in 2020 that Shiffrin has triumphed back-to-back.
The only one who really came to play in her flower beds is veteran Wendy Holdener. She skied an exceptional second run in 55.42 seconds and neither Petra Vlhova nor Lena Duerr could do better. They finish for a second consecutive day in third and fourth position.