After finishing in the third position in Lienz Sara Hector returned today to the top of the podium in Giant Slalom after setting the best time on both runs. The last time she won a race was in Kronplatz in 2022.
Hector was super consistent and extremely aggressive on a difficult and exigent Luková slope. She was the only one able to cope with the icy conditions in the first run. Mikaela Shiffrin finished in second place +1.52 seconds behind Hector. Alice Robinson rounded up the podium in third place +2.71 seconds behind the Swede skier.
Olympic Champion Sara Hector wins today in Jasna her 5th Giant Slalom race in the Alpine Ski World Cup. It is his 15th podium in the World Cup and her 14th in Giant Slalom. Four days ago she achieved her first podium in Slalom in Flachau.
"It's amazing. The snow was perfect, an amazing race, I had so much fun skiing today. I feel like my setup is so good for ice, everything was working today", Hector said.
Shiffrin achieved today her 149th Alpine Ski World Cup podium.
"It was just fun to watch Sara ski today. You have to just take a step back and say, 'That's just nice to look at. I felt I skied the best I can ski on the second run and I'm super happy with that", Shiffrin said.
Alice Robinson finished for a second time on the podium this season.
"Second run, I thought I had to push and at the start, I made a couple of mistakes and I thought to myself, 'Maybe reel it in a little bit,' because there was a big gap to the fourth", Robinson said.
Sadly, the Slovak fans' party in Jasna was over after just a few minutes of the first run after Vlhova's fall. The local hero, who celebrated a celebrated home win in 2021, slipped on the inside ski in the top section after the first gates and finished in the safety net.
An examination in the hospital finally confirmed the “worst case”: Petra Vlhova suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee and is out for the rest of the season.
Federica Brignone, the Giant Slalom standings leader, did not finish the first run after falling at the fourth gate. Now, Lara Gut-Behrami who finished in sixth place, is the new leader.