Vlhova dominates World Cup slalom opener, Shiffrin fourth
Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova got her World Cup slalom campaign off to a perfect start with a dominant display in the season-opener in Levi on Saturday with US star Mikaela Shiffrin finishing fourth.
The Slovak's blistering risk-taking performance gave her the best times in both runs to crush the opposition.
Germany's Lena Duerr was second at 1.41sec with Austrian Katharina Liensberger 1.55sec off the pace to move up to third after the second run at the expense of Shiffrin.
Shiffrin, the most successful skier in the history of the World Cup with five overall World Cup trophies and a record 88 victories, had been third after the first run but was tenth-best in the second, to finish just off the podium at 1.70sec.
"I am quite surprised, but of course I am happy because both runs were perfect," said Vlhova, 28, after her 29th World Cup victory and sixth in Levi.
"Honestly, I didn't expect so much of a gap between me and Lena and Katharina but I feel good. I am enjoying skiing and I feel confident too."
She confirmed her good form at the start of the season, two weeks after her third place in the opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria.
"Of course, before the race I was a little bit under stress because you don't know where you are but in the end I won again here and it's amazing."
Shiffrin, seemingly hampered by bruising to her left knee after a training run fall, lost time with several small mistakes on her second run.
The 28-year-old American won both slaloms in Levi last season on her way to the crystal globe in the discipline.
But her start to the season has been less impressive than expected, with a sixth-place in Soelden last month.
Not since 2014 has a skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova won in Levi, a city in the far north of Finland which will host a second women's slalom on Sunday.
vg/ea/pb
