It is all excitement and thrill in the alpine skiing world as the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2023/24 continues with its 58th edition. While the men’s faces constant disappointment with increasing cancellations, the women’s has trodden a path well of delight through its 4 courses. Through the rollercoaster of the tour, Mikaela Shiffrin has experienced every hill and steep.
On the 25th of November, the World Cup reached Killington for its North American leg. Entering her home country, Mikaela dominated the standings with 30 points in difference. The momentum continued as she emerged victorious in the 1st venue. However, coming to Tremblant, the most decorated alpine skiing star was in for a little disappointment.
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Mikaela Shiffrin faces upset
On the 3rd of December, the Mont Tremblant resort ski hosted the women’s Giant Slalom. Shiffrin, who was on a winning streak faced disappointment from Slovakian skiing giant, Petra Vlhova. As the former raced to score 1:06.46, Shiffrin fell short by 0.05 and slipped to second spot. This interestingly, wasn’t the first time in the series that the Olympian has faced a defeat from Petra.
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COURCHEVEL, FRANCE – MARCH 16: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill on March 16, 2022 in Courchevel, France. (Photo by Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
In the opening event of Giant Slalom, Vlhova rushed ahead of Mikaela for a third spot. The Slovakian’s streak continued on the next day as she clinched the first day’s title in Levi. However, the most interesting of all was when the two faced a close face-off on day 2 of Slalom in Levi Black. Shiffrin clocked one minute 51.68 seconds, 0.18 seconds to finish first.
The rivals see improvement
According to one of the interviews with Olympic.com, Petra Vlhova admitted that their rivalry has been going on for over a decade. Ever since her debut, the 25-year-old has had her goal set on defeating the most decorated alpine skiing icon. However, the competition has only seemed to have helped the rivals. “She pushed me and I gave everything from my body to ski better than her,” she stated.
“It’s an honor for me to ski with her and of course it’s difficult, because she’s often in front. Sometimes I am thinking that if she hadn’t been there, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to perform as I did.” she further added. Petra also expressed that her presence has only motivated Mikaela to perform better. And watching the course of the event, the two seem to be challenging improvements with every race.
