On the Levi Black piste, which was icier than the day before, Mikaela Shiffrin confirms she is now number one in Slalom with another flawless performance. The 27-year-old ski star set the two fastest times in both runs and became the most successful skier ever on this slope with her sixth triumph on the "Levi Black" (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, and twice in 2022). Shiffrin's six slalom victories in the women's slalom in Levi is a new record for the number of victories in this discipline at one specific venue. Only Lindsey Vonn (14 Downhill in Lake Louise, 6 Downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, 6 Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo) and Annemarie Moser-Pröll (7 Downhill in Pfronten) have recorded more than five World Cup wins in a specific event at a single resort among women's skiers.
Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova have won every women’s Alpine Ski World Cup race in Levi dating back to 2016. It is the third year in a row that the winner of the first slalom in Levi also wins the second slalom after the back-to-back victories of Petra Vlhova succeeded in 2020 and 2021.
“I was a bit nervous, but everything was fine in the end. I tried to push more and more and just focused on myself. I didn't watch or listen to anything about the others I tried to stay on my own bubble and concentrate in my plan”, Shiffrin said.
“I really didn't expect to win today, even after the first run, everyone who is racing is so strong right now. There is a bit of luck, but I have been working very hard on my preparation. My coaches have been working like crazy, the whole team. I've been pushing to the limit, which was good preparation", added Shiffrin.
Mikaela Shiffrin has won 76 World Cup events, ranking her third all-time behind Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Lindsey Vonn (82).
With 68 podiums, Shiffrin Holds the record for the most women's World Cup podiums in a single discipline.
Shiffrin's second victory in Levi, leaves her with 200 points in the overall and Slalom standings ahead of the races, a Slalom and a Giant Slalom, in Killington, Vermont next weekend.
Wendy Holdener finished in second place 0.28 seconds behind Shiffrin. She was again so close to win. The Swiss has recorded 30 podium finishes in the women's slalom in the World Cup without recording a win (15 times 2nd and 15 times 3rd). For Holdener, the 105th slalom race marked, by far, the most World Cup podium finishes in a single event without a win by an alpine skier in a single discipline. Only Frida Hansdotter (17) have finished second in a World Cup slalom event more times than Holdener.
After a solid first run, Holdener managed a full attack flawless run in the second run setting the second best time -only 0.07 seconds slower than Shiffrin-, but it was not enough for the Swiss to win. "It was a good run and I thought it was possible to win. But when I saw Mikaela and she skied like she was on rails, I knew she was going to win. I tried not to think about the result, I just wanted to to ski better than yesterday and I did that. It was so nice, I did so many good turns and had a lot of fun. I’m really happy to ski that good", said Holdener.
Petra Vlhova finished again in third place (+0.68). The Slovak finished on the podium a total of nine times in Levi (5 - 1- 3). She only finished out of the podium two times (2013 DNQ1 and 2019 DNF2). She finished on the podium in ten of the last eleven World Cup slalom events. She only missed the podium once last season when she finished 4th in Are in March 2022.
"I’m quite satisfied with two third places. It could be better, but we know where we could improve and be faster, so we will try to make it in the next race. Mikaela this season is really strong, so if I’m going to beat her, I need to be perfect on both runs. There are still lots of races ahead. I think it will be close all season”, said Vlhova.
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