Shiffrin Fifth in Maribor

MARIBOR, SLOVENIA (Feb. 21, 2015)—The best female ski racers in the world competed in front of a rowdy Slovenian crowd on Saturday that rivaled that of the World Championships in Beaver Creek, CO. They were loud and they were ready to see hometown heroine Tina Maze perform. Just two Americans competed in Maribor: Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, CO) and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO). Shiffrin was just off the podium—in fifth place—and Vonn did not finish.

Tied for third after first run, Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, CO) lost time on the top section of the course and finished in fifth for the day. Viktoria Rebensburg thought she had Austria’s Anna Fenninger, when Anna lost time on the top. But Fenninger—reigning GS World Champion who earned a hard-fought gold with a huge bobble in Beaver Creek—crushed the bottom section of the course and came out on top. Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather skied a smoking-fast second run and finished third overall. And hometown hero and race favorite Tina Maze silenced the crowd when she skied out, just a few gates before the finish.

“It’s nice that these races here in Maribor are right after the World Championships,” explained Shiffrin. “I feel like I kept that adrenaline going. Now I am in World Cup mode again and it will just continue for the rest of the season.”

Lindsey Vonn had a strong first run before crashing into the b-net. 

In Vonn’s first giant slalom back on the World Cup circuit, she ran 18th and was leading in the first split before going down on her right hip and crashing back-first into the b-net. She is okay and walked away from the finish area smiling. Vonn won on this hill over Tina Maze by .08 on January 26, 2013.

Shiffrin stays in Maribor on Sunday to race in the slalom.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The last time the athletes got to race in the Mariborsko Pohorje ski resort was two years ago, since the event had to be staged in Kranjska Gora in 2014 due to the lack of snow.
• Fenninger has won eight GS World Cup races in her career.
• Fenninger and Rebensurg went 1-2 in the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships GS, but the margin of victory in Maribor was different with 1.4 seconds separating first and second.
• The crowd was one of the largest and loudest on the circuit.
• Lindsey Vonn won on this hill over Tina Maze by .08 on January 26, 2013.
• Reigning World Champion Mikaela Shiffrin will race in tomorrow’s slalom race. She currently sits behind slalom World Cup leader Frida Hansdotter with 379 points to Hansdotter’s 420.

Watch Mikaela Shiffrin's fifth-place finish in Maribor.

QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
I don’t think I let it go quite soon enough. I thought I was going to have trouble down there, and I didn’t really, but the rest of the course felt really good so I’ll just take what I can from the day. I have to look at the video—some people said that there was a tailwind and I don’t know if I had wind. I think I just still have to work on making speed in the flats when you have to make speed and not just carry speed.

I am pretty good at making speed on the flats in slalom, so that won’t be as big of an issue. The hill looks really nice, so I’m just really excited to get on my slalom skis. The slope was really nice today. They prepared it very well and if it freezes just a little bit tonight again, it will be really good for tomorrow.

[Tina Maze] is such a great competitor and she’s been going on all season, so it’s tough…sometimes to race in front of your home crowd. I know that for sure. And sometimes you’re a little bit tired, and two gates from the finish it’s a bummer, but she’s still in the lead for the overall and we still have tomorrow.

It's nice that these races here in Maribor are right after the World Championships. I feel like I kept that adrenaline going. Now I am in World Cup mode again and it will just continue for the rest of the season.

RESULTS
Official results