Mikaela Shiffrin is only a shadow of herself in the once beloved giant slalom.
After she had only reached 25th place in this discipline in this discipline in this discipline in this discipline and was so badly placed as it has not been since March 2014, it was worse in the second: for the first time since October 2012, the American missed in A giant slalom qualification for the final.
Federica Brignone remains the measure of all things this season: the World Cup title in the giant slalom now followed the second victory within two days and the seventh in this World Cup winter.
This time the 34-year-old Italian won ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland (+0.77 seconds) and Alice Robinson (+0.79) from New Zealand, who, like on Friday, had to hand in her half-time lead.
Brignone further expanded her leadership in the overall World Cup. Lena Dürr improved in the final by eight places to 15th place (+2.39).
Shiffrin is still crushed by fall
Shiffrin obviously suffers from the aftermath of her severe fall in the giant slalom of Killington/USA at the end of November. Because of her post-traumatic problems, the 29-year-old had left the World Cup race in this discipline last week.
In Saalbach-Hinterglemm, she was only started in the team combination (gold together with Breezy Johnson) and in slalom (5th). At the World Cup she reported that in the giant slalom, in which she had won gold in 2018 at the Olympics and in 2023 at the World Cup, to be afraid of speed.
“It’s not me right now, and that’s okay,” Shiffrin said on Friday. For them it was already a “big step” to go out of the starting house at all. But she also admitted: “If you are normally able to drive the Top 10 or Top 5, for podiums, then it doesn’t feel like the big step that is actually.”
Her maximum potential in giant slalom is just to collect points.