The Swiss shone again during the slalom World Cup on Sunday in Kranjska Gora, even if victory went to Croatian Zrinka Ljutic. Wendy Holdener ranked 2nd (at 0’16), Camille Rast 4th and Mélanie Meillard 5th.
IMAGO/Pixsell
Tied for the lead with Zrinka Ljutic after the first lap, Wendy Holdener had the chance to start before the Croatian in the afternoon. And she knew how to let the horses go, setting the best time on the second course to take the lead with a 1”03 lead over the Swede Anna Swenn Larsson.
But Zrinka Ljutic (20 years old) did not give up. Precise and aggressive, she won with 0”16 ahead of the Schwyzoise to achieve her second consecutive success in the slalom World Cup after her triumph in Semmering, where a week earlier she had become the first Croatian to win. impose on the White Circus. since the legend Janica Kostelic (last success in March 2006).
The regularity of Rast and Meillard
Zrinka Ljutic also did the very good thing of the day as she took 1st place in the general classification and in the slalom. Leader of the discipline before this race, Camille Rast is however only 4 points behind in the slalom World Cup. Fourth, 0”17 from the podium, the Valaisan native finished the five slaloms of the season in the top 5.
Mélanie Meillard also demonstrates more than pleasing consistency, even if she will still have to wait before achieving a first top 3 in a classic discipline. The Hérémence skier has five top 10 finishes in her 2024/25 slalom rankings, which places her in 8th place in the discipline rankings.
Gisin far from the mark
Four other Swiss women finished in the top 30. Eliane Christen and Janine Mächler, who had scored their first points at this level in Semmering a week earlier, confirmed this by ranking 15th and 21st respectively. Elena Stoffel, for her part, unlocked her 2024/25 counter by taking 18th place.
But for Michelle Gisin, this weekend will be one to forget as quickly as possible. The Obwalden, modest 26th on Saturday in the giant, finished 28th in slalom after achieving the 16th time in the first round. The “break” she gave herself by skipping the Semmering events does not seem enough to recharge her batteries.
