Mikaela Shiffrin continues to dominate women’s slalom racing with remarkable authority. On Tuesday night in Courchevel, the American skier claimed her fifth consecutive slalom victory and her fourth win of the current winter season, once again asserting her status as the undisputed benchmark in the discipline. As in the previous three slalom races this season, Shiffrin built a lead of more than one second over the rest of the field, underlining her exceptional consistency and control.
Switzerland’s Camille Rast finished second, 1.55 seconds behind, while Germany’s Emma Aicher secured third place to complete the podium. Austria’s best performer was Katharina Truppe, who finished fourth after a strong second run. Despite struggling in the upper section of the final course, the Carinthian skier increased her speed as the run progressed and narrowly missed the podium by just eight hundredths of a second.
“It wasn’t easy from top to bottom. It’s disappointing to be so close to the podium, but I’m still happy with fourth place,” Truppe told ORF, also highlighting her consistent start to the season, with previous results including 16th, 6th and 7th positions. The race proved more challenging for several other Austrian athletes. Katharina Liensberger was forced to retire, extending her difficult start to the Olympic season in Savoy.
The 2021 world champion has finished only two of the four slalom races contested so far, placing tenth and sixth. Several high-profile skiers also failed to complete the race, including Croatia’s Zrinka Ljutic, last season’s overall slalom winner, Albania’s Lara Colturi, who had been on the podium in every previous race this winter, and Austrians Katharina Gallhuber and Franziska Gritsch. Overall, only three of Austria’s eight starters earned World Cup points, although Lisa Hörhager (12th) and Natalie Falch (18th) delivered personal best performances, offering positive signs for the team despite Shiffrin’s overwhelming dominance.
