Alpine skiing: Holdener second behind the superior Liensberger

Wendy Holdener has the chance of another podium finish in the slalom in Flachau. After the first run, the Swabian is in second place behind the superior Austrian Katharina Liensberger.

Holdener lost 75 hundredths of a second to the unleashed Vorarlberg racer, only Sweden’s Sara Hector was able to keep the gap under a second. Mélanie Meillard, who has finished in the top ten in all five slaloms of the World Cup winter so far, also has her sights set on the podium from fifth place.

Camille Rast, who opened the race under floodlights in Salzburgerland, will take a one-and-a-half second deficit into the second run. Michelle Gisin, who is competing in her last World Cup slalom, was almost two and a half seconds slower than Liensberger.

Holdener is aiming for her third podium finish of the season. At the beginning of December in Killington, Vermont, and most recently in Kranjska Gora, she took second place. In Slovenia, the Central Swiss only had to admit defeat to Zrinka Ljutic. The Croatian, who had also previously won the slalom in Semmering, will not be a factor this time after a time-consuming mistake in the upper part of the course.

With her excellent run, Liensberger laid the foundations for the first World Cup victory for an Austrian woman in the slalom for almost three years. The last one to date was also won by Liensberger, in Are, Sweden, in March 2022.