3rd Crystal Globe On The Line for Shiffrin

MERIBEL, France (March 19, 2015) – Meribel is a magical place and the World Cup Finals results have been equally magical. Lindsey Vonn has been on fire: two globes and two wins in two days. And let’s hope that the number two continues to be lucky in Meribel, as Mikaela Shiffrin drew bib number two for Saturday’s slalom.

Shiffrin goes for her third career World Cup globe in the slalom, holding a 90-point lead over Sweden's Frida Hansdotter. Shiffrin has had great training all week, including an early morning session on Friday in Courchevel, France, which has left her feeling good and focused for the tech weekend. But even though her slalom lead is comfortable, it’s not yet secure.

“I feel good. I’m 90 points ahead, which makes everybody think, ‘Well, you have it locked up then,’” said Shiffrin. “But I’m thinking that I don’t yet. And if I have that cocky attitude then there’s a good chance I can lose it.”

At a mere 20 years old, Shiffrin is on the verge of grabbing her third crystal globe and equaling Janica Kostelic’s three slalom globes. It’s a fitting goal, as earlier in the season Shiffrin wore her hair in braided pigtails to match Kostelic’s race-day hairstyle superstition.

Ted Ligety smokes a turn to a World Championships victory in Beaver Creek. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)

On the men’s side, Marcel Hirscher of Austria has already secured the giant slalom World Cup this season—his second crystal globe after winning it in 2012. Although World Champion Ted Ligety will not be adding to his trophy case—which currently holds five crystal globes—at World Cup Finals this season, he’s still looking for the win in the last race of the season. He’ll run fourth, before he will look ahead to next season to dethrone Hirscher from the giant slalom title once again. Tim Jitloff will also be competing, donning bib 9.

Catch all of the action on Universal Sports Network. The women’s slalom airs at 11 a.m. ET and the men’s GS will be at 1 p.m. ET.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mikaela Shiffrin can give United States a fourth consecutive World Cup race victory as Lindsey Vonn won the downhill and super G earlier this week and Shiffrin herself the slalom last week. This has not happened since Vonn won four successive races in December 2011.
• Shiffrin has taken 13 of her 14 career World Cup race victories in the slalom.
• With only two races to go, Marcel Hirscher is defending a 34-point lead over Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud in the overall.
• Hirscher has now won the giant slalom title twice (2012, 2015), the slalom twice (2013, 2014) and the overall three times (2012, 2013, 2014).
• Both Shiffrin and Vonn will compete in Sunday’s giant slalom, while David Chodounsky will compete in Sunday’s slalom.

Shiffrin grins after her slalom win in Are, Sweden. (Getty Images/AFP-Jonathan Nackstrand)

QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
I feel good. I’m 90 points ahead, which makes everybody think, ‘Well, you have it locked up then. But I’m thinking that I don’t yet. And if I have that cocky attitude then there’s a good chance I can lose it.

I’m leading by 90 points, not 99, so really, that 10 percent chance that I lose it can seem really big. So I’m really trying to go out tomorrow and pretend, once again, that it’s just an average race. It’s a big race, but I just have to put it on the line and put my best skiing out there, just like any other day, and that makes it more manageable in my head.