Shiffrin wrests back advantage in Vlhova duel

Mikaela Shiffrin didn't want to slow down, even after the race was over.

Having just beaten her biggest slalom rival in a women's World Cup night race in Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday, the US ski star was still in a hurry — to get in touch with her boyfriend Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who was recovering from surgery.

"Now, I just want to call Alex. He should be trying to go sleep soon. Just checking on him," Shiffrin said after sending her partner a text message from her phone.

Shiffrin celebrated an emotional win, edging out Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova following another gripping duel in their ongoing slalom rivalry.

It was Shiffrin's 94th career win and came nine days after she failed to finish the previous slalom in Slovenia, and two days after she visited Kilde in a hospital in Switzerland, following the Norwegian skier's crash in a downhill race, in which he suffered a dislocated shoulder and a cut to his calf.

"It's just emotional. This is really emotional now. The last three days it feels as if I've lived a lifetime," Shiffrin said.

The American ski star trailed Vlhova by 0.07 seconds after the first run but posted the second-fastest time in the final run to win the race by 0.27.

Olympic giant slalom champion Sara Hector was 1.11 behind in third for the Swede's first-ever podium finish in slalom.

"I'm really proud of this evening and very thankful for my whole team," said Shiffrin, who was in tears after the race, which was attended by her brother Taylor and sister-in-law Kristi.

"The last few days have been challenging and (my team has) been so supportive and helped me to see Alex."

The course for the final showdown was set by Magnus Andersson, the head coach of the US women's tech team.

Shiffrin made a mistake early in her run, but won time on her competitors in the remaining sections to put pressure on first-run leader Vlhova.

The Slovakian initially gained some time, but struggled from the middle part of the course, going wide into a few turns and being slightly hampered by a gate that broke and rolled down the course after she passed it.

"Of course, it wasn't comfortable but luckily it didn't get under my ski," Vlhova said. "I made many mistakes, and in the second run I started to lose position. If you want to win, you need a perfect run. I knew she had a good run, so I needed to find something inside me to push more."

Her achievement, after her far-from-ideal preparation, came as a relief for Shiffrin.

"It was a big push today. After Kranjska Gora, of course, it was disappointing, but I wanted a good performance here," the American said after her record-extending 57th career slalom win.

"In the end it comes down to a bit of luck, as well. She (Vlhova) got a gate and there are some things that were not perfect for her, I made a mistake at the top. We were both pushing to our limit."

Shiffrin said she had regained her strength after struggling with a cold in Slovenia and skipping a three-race speed event in nearby Altenmark-Zauchensee over the weekend, but she was affected by Kilde's crash.

"I feel 100 percent healthy again, though the last few days I didn't get a lot of sleep, but that's a different kind of thing," Shiffrin said.

Shiffrin has now won four to Vlhova's three of the seven slaloms so far this season, with the American leading her rival by 25 points in the discipline's standings.

Shiffrin's teammate AJ Hurt, who finished third in the previous slalom, was on course for another top-10 finish, posting the ninth-fastest time in the first run before skiing out in her second run.

Another teammate, Paula Moltzan, was the fastest starter in the opening run, but then had an awkward crash when she straddled a gate and her left ski went up in the air, forcing her leg to bend sideways. Fortunately, the US skier avoided injury.

"My knee is absolutely fine, which is really lucky," Moltzan said. "I just landed on my pole, so I feel like I have a bruise on my back. I'm lucky that I'm really flexible."

Several lower-ranked skiers finished in the top 15, most notably Dzenifera Germane of Latvia, who started 50th and finished eighth, and Italian-born Lara Colturi, competing for Albania, who wore bib 60 and finished ninth.

The women's World Cup continues on to Jasna, Slovakia, next weekend, close to Vlhova's hometown.

Agencies via Xinhua