'That was special': Shiffrin back to winning ways in Flachau

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic) got back to winning ways with a dominant victory in the Flachau Slalom on Tuesday night as she secured her 107th World Cup win.

Camille Rast (SUI/Head) had briefly halted Shiffrin's Slalom season dominance when the Swiss skier won in Kranjska Gora last time out - the first time her American opponent had failed to win a Slalom race in six outings - but under the Flachau floodlights normal service resumed as Shiffrin (1:50.52) saw off the challenges of compatriot Paula Moltzan (Rossignol) in second (+0.41) and Katharina Truppe (AUT/Voelkl) in third (+0.65).

The victory is the Atomic athlete's 70th in World Cup Slalom, making her the first to achieve that milestone in the history of the sport, as well as her 107th World Cup victory overall as she continues to showcase her ascendency on the eve of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

"That was exciting," said Shiffrin, who now has 96 World Cup podiums in Slalom alone.

"This is insane how many people are here. It's so cool! Thank you for coming.

"This crowd tonight was... I mean you can see the footprints all the way up the side of the slope. That was special."

It is often said that athletes can learn more from a loss than a victory, and the 30-year-old suggested that was the case on her brief visit to second place on a Slalom podium earlier this month.

"Something I learned from Kranjska Gora is how important it is to get more comfortable with high speed in Slalom," Shiffrin said.

"So we were practicing that and I felt like I could show some of my top speed tonight in my second run.

"There were even moments then when I was like kind of closing my eyes and hoping for it to be over a bit. It's crazy to be going down the hill in that way."

The victory is now the sixth time Shiffrin has stood on the top step at Flachau, where she recorded a DNF in her first outing in 2011 but has subsequently appeared on the podium on each of the 11 occasions since.

"It's always a challenge every time. This hill is super hard and really rewarding to ski well," she said.

"It's amazing to share this with Paula. Podiums with team-mates is the best thing in the world.

"I knew Paula would take care of business and I tried to take care of business.

"It's so cool to be at the start right next to your team-mates, that's a crazy feeling."

Words echoed by Moltzan. It was an eighth career podium for the 31-year-old, three of which have come this season, but a first in Slalom this term.

"First Slalom podium of the year, it feels like a bit long-awaited but I'm very grateful, and I'm very grateful to be closing the gap to Mikaela which has kind of been the goal the whole season," she said.

"I love being on the podium with my team-mates. To go on my third Slalom podium with Michaela is, as always, truly incredible."

Moltzan was not deterred to have lost out to her long-time friend and team-mate yet again.

"I've skied with Mikaela since I was 13, it's nothing new but it doesn't mean I don't want to beat her," Moltzan said.

"We talk about it all the time. It's going to happen at some point - I'll keep fighting until I get there."

Shiffrin responded: "I dream about your first win and I just hope to gosh that I can share the podium with you."

Meanwhile, it was a sixth World Cup podium for Truppe, but her first on home snow, and she said she had to battle her emotions at the top of the slope to achieve the feat.

"I'm really happy because it was really tight. It was a bit tough for me the second run because I was so nervous at the start," she said.

"I knew I had to push and go to the limit. I had to put it all together and I was so happy when I saw the green light."

The boisterous crowd was entertained all the way to the end as all three athletes on the podium each saw green lights when they crossed the line, as did Camille Rast (SUI/Head) who finished fourth, one place ahead of Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head).

"I heard them up until I thought 'OK I have to push because they want to have a show'," Truppe said of the noisy fans.

Shiffrin added: "I was standing at the start; Camille came in with a green light, and then Truppe came in with a green light, then Paula, and I was like 'Oh it's just getting louder, I didn't think that's possible!'"

Shiffrin remains at the top of the Slalom standings following her win. She is now on 680 points, with Rast in second on 412 points with three races remaining.