The American Mikaela Shiffrin is guaranteed to win the general classification of the Alpine Skiing World Cup for the fifth time, after Saturday's downhill in Kvitfjell (Norway), rewarding a crazy season.
There are still seven races left on the World Tour schedule - a maximum of 700 points up for grabs - but, beating Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami in Saturday's race, Shiffrin, who has a lead of more than 790 points, is now certain to lift the big crystal globe after the finals in Andorra on March 19.
With five victories in the general classification (after 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022), the trophy which rewards the most regular and most complete skiers, the American joins Luxembourg's Marc Girardelli, terror of the 1980s and 1990s, on the list. only the Austrians Annemarie Moser-Pröll (6) and Marcel Hirscher (8) remain.
Defending champion, Shiffrin has dazzled the season with 14 podiums, including 11 wins in 25 starts so far.
Still on the hunt for Stenmark
The main title acquired, she still chases the absolute record of 86 victories in the World Cup of Swede Ingemar Stenmark.
With 85 successes accumulated over the past twelve years, this emblematic brand of world alpine skiing is reaching out to it.
She will have another chance to get there on Sunday in the super G, or more likely next week in Are (Sweden), on the lands of Stenmark, with her favorite disciplines (giant and slalom).
Read alsoSki: Mikaela Shiffrin separates from Mike Day, her historic coach in the middle of the Courchevel and Méribel Worlds
The Colorado native secured the title before the end of the downhill, won by Norwegian Kajsa Vickhoff Lie.
Starting in the first bibs, the 24-year-old Scandinavian skier kept the lead throughout for her first victory on the circuit and the first victory for a Norwegian in this specialty in the World Cup.
She was ahead of the Italian Sofia Goggia (2nd at 0''29), who herself pocketed the downhill World Cup, and the Swiss Corinne Suter (3rd at 0''41).
Shiffrin ranked 5th, at 0.79, while Lara Gut-Behrami, the only one who could theoretically still be ahead of her in the general classification, finished 21st.
She overcame Beijing's 'ridiculousness'
Midway through her record-breaking season, Shiffrin also took advantage of the “
break
” from the World Championships in Méribel, where she had won three medals (giant gold, super-G and slalom silver), to complete her huge collection. of 14 world podiums.
She said on Saturday that she also hoped to win the globe in giant slalom.
This accumulation of success shows that the American has been able to recover from the trials of life.
The loss of her father and mentor Jeff in February 2020 in a domestic accident had plunged her into endless grief and cut the momentum from her career.
Shiffrin also had to overcome the “
ridiculousness
” (in her words) of the Beijing Olympics last year, where she crashed three times and won no medals.
Last summer, she consulted a sports psychologist, according to NBC Sports, who "
helped her to know herself better, and to be more independent
" according to her mother.
“
This is my first season with so much mental energy
,” she explained, about her spectacular revival.
