The sixth slalom of the season had a surprise in store. In a thrilling finale, Camille Rast ended Mikaela Shiffrin’s winning streak. The Swiss relegated the American to second place in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, with a lead of 0.14 seconds. Wendy Holdener came third. Emma Aicher and Lena Dürr came in eighth and eleventh place.
Shiffrin once again delivered perfectly. “A super fast dance“That was it, said the 30-year-old about the tight first run. However, Camille Rast was even faster, taking just under a tenth of a second off Shiffrin.”It was very cool to drive,” beamed the previous day’s winner in the giant slalom.
A victory should also be something like revenge for the narrow defeat in the last race of 2025 in Semmering, when Rast had to admit defeat by 0.09 seconds.
Shiffrin strong, Rast even stronger
Shiffrin made it really exciting in the second run and, as so often, was able to go one step further in the final. The American raced aggressively through the course and burned the target time for rest into the snow.
She remained unimpressed, showed little respect for her rival’s top time and impressively took victory. Revenge succeeded!
Aicher after a mistake in attack mode
A serious mistake at the start of the steep slope meant Emma Aicher had a better starting position for the second run. “Icy hard, but already quite grippy“, said Aicher about the snow, on which she was sixth, 1.20 seconds behind Rast and announced a full attack for the final.
Aicher then showed an almost flawless second run, but in the end the all-rounder lacked the precision to make it into the top three. Eighth place was still a strong result.
Dürr brings back the lightness
Lena Dürr, sixteenth at halftime, had to catch up on the podium by 1.5 seconds. “I’m not coping so well right now. The lightness is missing“, said the 34-year-old in an interview with ZDF after the first round.
In the committed second run, Dürr showed her class and moved up five places. “It was already much more active” she beamed in the target interview. “Everything isn’t perfect yet, but it was a step in the right direction.“
There was only no happy ending for teammate Jessica Hilzinger. The 28-year-old was already in the first round and didn’t even make it to the finish.
World Cup points for the first time for an athlete from Israel
The surprise of the day came from Israeli Noa Szollos, who, with start number 70, crossed the finish line in 22nd place and rushed into the final. The 22-year-old native of Hungary wrote skiing history in the second run, as it was Israel’s first ever World Cup points in alpine ski racing. “I am incredibly proud“, says Szollos.