Shiffrin Takes Fourth in Are GS

ARE, Sweden (Mar. 13, 2015)—Tension was palpable in Are, Sweden at the last Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom before the World Cup Finals. Crystal globes were in all of the women’s thoughts, making for an exciting race under the lights. Anna Fenninger of Austria took the win and the lead for the GS title. On her 20th birthday, Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, CO) was just off the podium in fourth.

The course was soft first run with a deep groove forming throughout the race, but the second run was salted, hardening the track as the sun set. The solid snow was good for the fast and swingy second run, which required the athletes to work the ski on every turn and control the power to the finish.

Shiffrin finished the first run in sixth place, tying with World Cup overall leader Tina Maze of Slovenia. Shiffrin threw down a thrillingly fast second run, squeaking into first place by .02 seconds. Maze followed, but couldn’t keep up to Shiffrin, finishing over a second behind her. All Shiffrin could do then was wait.

A lot of mistakes were made on the tough GS course set by the Slovenian coach. At the end, Fenninger stood on top of the podium, with Nadia Fanchini of Italy in second and Eva-Maria Brem in third. Fenninger’s run, even with a big mistake, was enough to take the win by .71 seconds, and the World Cup GS title from Brem. This was Fanchini’s first GS podium and her first podium since 2010, which the audience could see from her reaction in the finish.

Shiffrin cranks a turn in the first run. (Getty Images/AFP-Jonathan Nackstrand)

Cementing the fact that she’s skiing better and better in GS, Shiffrin was disappointed, but excited about her GS future—she was only .02 off of the podium. "Second run, my only goal was to throw it down the hill as hard as I could and risk skiing off the course or whatever might happen, knowing that I’ll never be able to win GSs unless I take that risk," said Shiffrin after her run. "That was a positive thing because the second run went better than the first. It’s something that I learned today. Hopefully I can take that to the slalom tomorrow and then to the GS in Meribel. I’d like to be one of the girls that’s comfortable enough with my skiing that I can just put down the fastest run."

Megan McJames (Park City, UT) was the only other American starter in Are. She put down a good run, but a bobble and recovery in the midsection of the course led to her finishing out of the top 30. She did not qualify for the second run.

Next up, the women race slalom on Saturday, where Shiffrin goes for her third win in Are. The men head to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia for a GS on Saturday.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mikaela Shiffrin was 10th in December’s GS in Are. Her first GS win ever came in Soelden, Austria this season, where she tied with Anna Fenninger.
• Shiffrin sits in third in the GS World Cup standings, behind Fenninger and Eva-Maria Brem.
• The GS also marked Mikaela Shiffrin’s 20th birthday.
• Fenninger can become the first woman in eight years to win the GS title as well as the World Cup overall in the same season. Nicole Hosp of Austria did this in the 2006/07 season.

QUOTES
Mikaela Shiffrin
After first run
It was OK. I think I made some really good turns. I think I can be more active and move a little more. I have some video, so I’ll go watch that and see what I can do better. It’s a really great day and the surface is holding up really well, so I expect that if I get tough second run I can make some changes.

The surface was great for me—I only ran two. It looks like there is a little bit of a rut—so something to push off of. That is a whole different challenge than just having soft snow. It’s quite good for how warm it’s been.

I think, especially in the middle section, I’m still a little bit tentative over the terrain. I have to get confident really pushing into my ski and getting all the power out of it and managing all the power down the hill. Every run is a learning experience for me because I’m trying to make some changes with my GS skiing. It’s going to take a little bit more practice, but step-by-step and hopefully next run will be better.

After second run
I felt like the day was kind of mediocre. First run I was pretty bummed about it especially after watching the video and seeing Fenninger pretty much just throw down every single turn quite a bit more than I did and being willing to take that kind of risk. I wasn’t. It’s kind of how it’s been going in GS for me. I’ll always tend to be slower because I don’t tend to take that extra risk in the sports in the course where you can get speed.

Second run, my only goal was to throw it down the hill as hard as I could and risk skiing off the course or whatever might happen, knowing that I’ll never be able to win GSs unless I take that risk. That was a positive thing because the second run went better than the first. It’s something that I learned today. Hopefully I can take that to the slalom tomorrow and then to the GS in Meribel. I’d like to be one of the girls that’s comfortable enough with my skiing that I can just put down the fastest run. 

RESULTS
Women's results