‘A new name on the list’: Rast wins Flachau Slalom to go top of the standings

Katharina Liensberger (AUT/Rossignol), who skied brilliantly in the first run to lead by 0.75 seconds, had a second run to forget, committing errors all the way down the piste to finish fourth and miss the podium by 0.13 seconds.

The Austrian was the last of seven skiers who took aim at Rast’s time with an advantage from the first run, but none of them could seize the moment, and the Swiss rising star ended up as the last woman standing.

It was a deserved victory after a scintillating second run — the second-fastest of the field — but the night didn’t start out well for Rast, as she could only manage eighth place in the first run.

Skiing with a clean track as the first skier out of the gate, she struggled to find the rhythm of the piste on the top section and despite not making any major errors, she found herself an eternity behind Liensberger.

“A lot of frustration, I have to say,” Rast said of her first run.

There was no such disappointment in the second run, however, as she mastered the tricky rollers of Flachau where her rivals stumbled to secure a come-from-behind victory.

“Just follow my instinct,” she said of her approach to the second run.