Emma Aicher had kept the race for victory in the overall World Cup open until the second run before she fell back after a mistake in the giant slalom. Mikaela Shiffrin then shed tears.
After improving her performance in Hafjell (Norway), the American “only” came in eleventh place (+2.02 seconds), but that should be enough for the 31-year-old to take her sixth victory in the overall World Cup. Shiffrin thus drew level with the Austrian record holder Annemarie Moser-Pröll.
When her victory was certain, Shiffrin cried, her relief clear to see. “At one point I thought I wouldn’t get a point and Emma would win this thing”said the best ski racer of the moment afterwards on ZDF, “That’s why I’m so emotional.”
Aicher makes a mistake in the second run
Before the race, Aicher only had a small chance of winning the overall World Cup, but he threw everything into the balance in the giant slalom. After a mistake in the second run, she finished the competition in twelfth place behind Shiffrin (+2.04). At halftime, the 22-year-old alpine all-rounder was still in third place.
“It’s really cool that I was able to keep up until the end“Aicher said afterwards:”But it was clear to me that a miracle had to happen. Nevertheless, I am very happy with my season.“
Grenier wins ahead of Holtmann and Scheib
The Canadian Valerie Grenier secured victory in the last race of the season ahead of local hero Mina Fuerst Holtmann (+0.43 seconds) and Julia Scheib from Austria (+0.57), who had previously won the small crystal ball in the giant slalom.
Speed specialist Kira Weidle-Winkelmann delivered a convincing performance in her first ever giant slalom race and came 22nd (+2.74). Lena Dürr (+2.70) finished one place ahead of her after improving in the second run.
Shiffrin goes into the race with a big lead
It was already clear before the race that Aicher needed nothing less than a skiing miracle to win the overall World Cup. After her slalom victory the day before, Shiffrin was already ahead with 85 points. From Aicher’s point of view, the calculation was simple: only if she won and Shiffrin didn’t score, the tide would turn again.
But just a look at the numbers underlined why this undertaking was a Herculean task: While Aicher had never been on a giant slalom podium in her young but already successful career, Shiffrin had already finished in the top three in this discipline 44 times in her unique career – she was at the top 22 times.
Aicher clearly ahead of Shiffrin after the first run
And yet the spectators rubbed their eyes in amazement after the first round. Aicher didn’t shy away from taking risks and conjured up a great ride in the snow. At halftime she was in a strong third place and shook her head in disbelief in the finish area. She was only 0.26 seconds behind the leading Canadian Grenier.
Shiffrin, on the other hand, started the race much more cautiously and also made a few small mistakes in the middle part of the route. In 17th place (+1.55 seconds), the American was outside the points at this point, as points are only awarded to the first 15 riders at the World Cup final.
Mikaela Shiffrin in the giant slalom
Shiffrin improves and removes all doubts
The exceptional driver from Colorado needed an increase in performance and had to gain at least two places in order to stay ahead in the overall World Cup. She managed to do that with flying colors.
Shiffrin took a lot more risk this time and produced a clean ride. Because the Italian Asja Zenere and AJ Hurt (USA) were unable to beat their time immediately afterwards, the race for the big crystal ball was decided early.
Shiffrin’s praise for Aicher: “Phenomenal”
“My nerves have been tense since this morning. I had a strange feeling yesterday“, Shiffrin said afterwards with a smile. She had previously experienced the end of the race on the shoulder of her fiancé Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and shed a few tears.
The Olympic champion only had words of praise for Aicher. “What Emma did in the first run was phenomenal. She was outstanding, so cool. I saw the headlines in front of me and knew I had to turn it around. Fortunately, the second run was much better.“
Aicher has finally reached the top of the world
Even if the big coup didn’t happen, Aicher can look back on an outstanding season: two silver medals at the Olympics, three World Cup victories, ten Podium places – Aicher has finally shown this winter why she can become the big German alpine star of the next few years.
The daughter of a German and a Swedish woman is already one of the world’s best in the speed disciplines and slalom. And she has also made enormous progress in the giant slalom – her supposedly weakest discipline. This is one of the reasons why Aicher will be the clear favorite in the race for the overall World Cup next season.
