Katharina Truppe achieved her first World Cup triumph in Are today, moving from sixth place to first in the second run. Truppe overcame a 0.91-second deficit from first run leader Mikaela Shiffrin to secure victory with the third-best time. Teammate Katharina Liensberger finished in second place just 0.05 seconds behind. Mikaela Shiffrin rounded up the podium in third place 0.22 seconds off the pace
Before today, Truppe's best result in the Alpine Ski World Cup was four third-place finishes. The last time she stood on the podium was in Courchevel on December 21, 2023.
Truppe and Liensberger secured the first double win for the Austrian women's team in Slalom since Kathrin Zettel and Marlies Schild achieved it twelve years ago in Aspen.
"I can barely stand because my legs are shaking. It was incredibly nerve-wracking. I only started to feel a bit relaxed when I realized I was on the podium. Then hope began to grow that maybe I could win today. It's unbelievable; I can't even describe it," Truppe said.
Before today, Liensberger has finished fourth in the previous three World Cup Slaloms, missing the podium by 0.13s (Flachau), 0.16s (Courchevel) and 0.12s (Sestriere). Between Courchevel and Sestriere, she won bronze in the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach. Liensberger has finished in the Top 10 in her last 12 World Cup Slalom races.
With today's 80 points in the Slalom, Liensberger secured a spot in the final Giant Slalom of the season in Sun Valley by reaching 500 points.
"It was a Kathi day today. I'm really exhausted. What happened today is really amazing. I have no strength or energy left, I gave it everything. I'm happy to be taking part in the Finals in two disciplines, that was very important to me," Liensberger said.
Although Mikaela Shiffrin didn't win today, she set another World Cup record. She reached her 156th World Cup podium, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark's 155, and becoming the sole record holder.
The Slalom Crystal Globe battle will be decided in the last race of the season at the Sun Valley Finals. Four skiers remain contenders for the title in this discipline. Zrinka Ljutic tops the Slalom standings with 515 points. Camille Rast follows in second place with 474 points, trailing the Croatian by 41 points. Katharina Liensberger is in third with 464 points, 51 points behind the leader. Wendy Holdener, in fourth place with 419 points, still has a slim chance of clinching the title.
Since 2017, only Katharina Liensberger in 2021 has broken the Slalom dominance of Petra Vlhova and Mikaela Shiffrin.
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