The podium
- 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) 1:47.20 minutes
- 2. Katharina Liensberger (AUT) +0,79 s
- 3. Lena Dürr (GER) +0.83
When the women compete in a slalom in Levi, the winner is either Mikaela Shiffrin or Petra Vlhova. The trend that has been going on since 2014, when Tina Maze won in Lapland, continues this year. In the absence of the injured Slovakian, Shiffrin delivered another impressive testament to her class and won her 98th World Cup victory.
The American continued in her flagship discipline where she left off last season with four successes in a row. In Levi she triumphed for the 8th time in her career.
Shiffrin came closest to Katharina Liensberger, who worked her way up from 4th to 2nd place and, like a year ago (3rd), was able to achieve a podium finish. Lena Dürr, on the other hand, lost one place and had to settle for 3rd position, 4 hundredths behind the Austrian.
The Swiss women
- 5. Camille Rast +1.31
- 7. Mélanie Meillard +1.43
- 16. Wendy Holdener +2,75
- 24. Michelle Gisin +3.39
- Not in the 2nd run: Elena Stoffel (31st), Aline Danioth (40th), Aline Höpli (48th), Janine Mächler (53rd), Nicole Good (out)
Thanks to a courageous drive in the second half, Camille Rast, who was 7th at halftime, also had the chance. started the race, could temporarily flirt with a podium place. The 25-year-old finished 5th, 5 tenths short of the podium. Last winter, Rast finished in the top 5 in the slalom three times.
Mélanie Meillard, another Swiss woman, caused a stir. As with Rast, the green light flashed at the finish after her second run. With 7th place she once again showed that she has the hang of Levi. After 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2023, it was Meillard’s fifth top 10 placement in the Finnish north.
Like in Sölden, Wendy Holdener barely got any sleep that night. That’s probably why the Schwyz native didn’t really get up to speed in the first slalom after her long injury break. The first run (13th) did not meet her high expectations, and in the second she fell behind the top 15. Michelle Gisin, who fell from 11th to 24th place, was completely out of place and out of the agenda.
Aline Danioth, the second returnee alongside Holdener, was satisfied. Her fourth cruciate ligament tear had prevented her from competing in the World Cup since January 2023. The woman from Uri missed the second run in 40th place, but didn’t want to be upset about it for long. «It’s nice to be back. “It’s all super emotional today,” she said. She is confident about the challenges ahead.
This is how it continues
On Sunday the men will celebrate the start of the slalom in Levi. Next weekend the pole artists are going to Gurgl (AUT). As in Levi, the women drive on Saturday, the men on Sunday.
