Shiffrin Cruises to 40th World Cup Win

A day after battling for her 39th World Cup victory, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) made it look easy, cruising toward World Cup history with her 40th victory in Sunday’s slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Brushing aside a flu bug, rainy weather, and rough course conditions, Shiffrin opened up a 1.47-second first run advantage and never looked back. Starting last in the second run, she extended her winning margin to 1.64-seconds over Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter, who finished second, and 1.87 seconds over Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener in third.

“I really loved the surface the first run,” Shiffrin said. “It got warmer in the second run and a little bit more of a track, but I actually thought it held up quite well. I had so much fun skiing today!”

Shiffrin is undefeated in 2018, winning the past four World Cup events, including two slalom victories, one giant slalom and a city event win in Oslo, Norway on New Year’s Day. She also won the Snow Queen title for her slalom victory in Zagreb, Croatia on Jan. 3, and following her giant slalom and slalom wins in Kranjska Gora, was awarded the Golden Fox, which goes to the best-combined finisher from the slalom and giant slalom.

“It’s really incredible to be the Golden Fox again,” Shiffrin said. “That one is definitely important to me … to be the best performer in the GS and the slalom through the weekend is really cool. That’s been one of my goals for so long, and it’s really, really an honor. But at the end of the day, it’s just a title and I still have to go back to work tomorrow.”

At 22-years-old, Shiffrin has reached another milestone in her ski racing career, equaling Ingemar Stenmark’s 40 wins before his 23rd birthday. Annemarie Moser-Pröll totaled 41 World Cup victories before turning 23. With four slalom and four giant slalom events remaining before Shiffrin turns 23 on March 13, the door is wide open for her to make World Cup history.

Since her World Cup debut as a 16-year-old on March 11, 2013, in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, Shiffrin has racked up some impressive stats, including:

• 29 World Cup slalom victories
• 6 World Cup giant slalom victories
• 1 World Cup alpine combined victory
• 1 World Cup downhill victory
• 2 World Cup city event wins
• 1 World Cup parallel slalom victory
• 3 World Championship slalom titles
• 1 Olympic slalom gold medal
• 57 World Cup podiums

Up next, the women’s World Cup circuit moves to Flachau, Austria Jan. 9 for an evening slalom where a victory would tie Shiffrin with Moser-Pröll’s 41 World Cup victories before turning 23.

“I’ve had some incredible races there … and I’m looking forward to going back there,” Shiffrin said. “The hill is one of my favorites, and when it’s in good condition, it’s really fun to ski.”

RESULTS
Women’s slalom