Petra Vlhova against Mikaela Shiffrin, the major alpine skiing duel of recent seasons has never ended. The two champions have won 37 of the last 40 World Cup slaloms in more than four years. And unsurprisingly, this Tuesday in Zagreb, the scenario reoccurred, in very bad conditions between a strong wind and a track deteriorated by high temperatures and dead leaves scattered on the snow. What further reinforce the difference between the two skiers and the rest of the world, pushed to more than two seconds, a chasm in alpine skiing. In these difficult conditions, the Slovakian edged the American by five tenths in both rounds and the Austrian world champion Katharina Liensberger by 2''11.
Vlhova took full advantage of the number 1 bib in the first round (which allows for an undamaged track) to get ahead without losing too much on the second track.
The 26-year-old Slovak, defending champion of the big crystal globe, thus signs her 4th victory of the season, all obtained in slalom, the 16th in the specialty in her career (24 all disciplines combined).
“
I just wanted to focus on my skiing to be as clean as possible around the door, let go of my skis.
It was very hard, the conditions were far from perfect.
I am very happy to win here again, it is not easy to chain the victories, I am always under pressure,
”she said.
Linksberger is gaining momentum
After missing a giant and a slalom in Lienz (Austria) at the end of December, because of the Covid-19, Shiffrin was able to come out of isolation at the last moment for Zagreb and sign, despite the lack of training, a 9th podium in 13 races this winter. A result that allows her to keep the lead in the general classification with 115 points ahead of Vlhova and 173 over the Italian Sofia Goggia, who does not compete in the slaloms. Katharina Liensberger had succeeded in thwarting the duel Shiffrin / Vlhova last winter by winning the title of world champion and the small crystal globe of the slalom. Despite a huge fault in the second round, the Austrian managed to grab a second consecutive podium and confirms her rise to power after having also contracted the Covid-19.
In the midst of a surge of contaminations linked to the Omicron variant, the women's circuit has been heavily affected by the virus for several weeks, whether for skiers, managers or followers.
One month before the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20), promised drastic health restrictions, the women's circuit this week crosses the men's circuit, rather spared by the Covid-19, present for a slalom Wednesday in Zagreb.
All teams are accommodated in the same hotel, where sanitary restrictions apply to common areas.
