Shiffrin clinches Slalom Crystal Globe with Spindleruv Mlyn masterclass

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic) is operating on a different planet to the rest of the women’s Slalom world at the moment, and in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czechia, she clinched the Audi FIS World Cup Slalom Crystal Globe with another metronomically brilliant performance.

Camille Rast (SUI/Head) was excellent as she took second place, +1.67 seconds behind Shiffrin, while Emma Aicher (GER/Head) continued a fine season on several fronts, finishing third (+2.18 seconds).

Shiffrin now has 108 career Audi FIS World Cup victories. She only needed to finish seventh to secure the Globe for the ninth time in her career.

She now has seven wins and one second place in the Slalom this season: the next battle on the calendar is for Olympic gold.

“Every time I ski, I feel like I could be flying off the course”

The damage was done by Shiffrin on run one: she finished a whopping +1.26 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head) in second place.

Shiffrin skied first, and bib one put down an impossible marker – a trademark performance full of aggressive turns.

“I felt really good on the first run, it was good skiing,” she said. “A little bit of risk, which was exciting. There’s one combination which is tricky visually.”

She is a big fan of the Czech resort. “Sometimes it’s just a feeling you get in a place, it feels comfortable, you can kind of relax a little bit. It is a very well organised event.

“The hospitality is comfortable, there is really good food, it’s one less thing to think about, and of course my first World cup [was here, aged 15] so it’s nostalgic. It’s such a great crowd, a pleasure to race here.”

She really just had to stay upright on run two to secure first place, which she duly did.

Shiffrin was so focused, that ninth career Audi FIS Crystal Globe was barely on her mind.

“Actually no, I don’t have so many words right now, this whole day I was not really thinking about the Globe,” she said.

“I knew coming to this race that It could be possible, but there were so many things to focus on, the hill, the training, going a bit earlier today than yesterday – it was a very early morning.”

How does she explain the gulf between her and the rest of the field?

“This gap isn’t there every race,” she said. “Every race is a little bit different, the first run for me was maybe an advantage to go bib one, because I didn’t know how the surface was going to feel. I didn’t have expectations and I kind of just skied as hard as I could. 

“By the time I could make a judgement on the hill I was in the finish. Then everyone could see there was some trickiness to handle, and sometimes that can be trickier. So it’s a big push every single race. Big mentality. I’m happy with the day, and also yesterday, a good weekend.”

Shiffrin also admitted although she currently looks indestructible, it doesn’t always feel that way inside.

“The combination on the second run today – I was a little bit concerned I was going to mess it up," she said.

“It’s wonderful to be consistent and fast, but every time I ski, I feel like I could be flying off the course at any moment. So it takes a lot of effort and intensity and focus. It’s always very exciting when I’m in the finish.”

Rast and Aicher the best of the rest
Slalom World Champion Rast continued her progress with a solid second place – with her later efforts in particular impressive, almost matching Shiffrin’s time.

“The second run was really good,” she said. “I missed a little bit this morning, my first run, I was not so in shape. I wasn’t awake or I didn’t give what I had. I was a little bit sick last week. I am happy to go home and have some time to rest, to be fit for Cortina.

“It was a big weekend with a double race. I had not so many battery left, but it was nice to have so many people here. The slope was good and it was good preparation. But now we are going home and a little bit of rest." 

Aicher meanwhile can also head to the Olympics feeling confident of fighting for medals on numerous fronts.

“I’m really happy, the runs were good,” she said. “There were a few things I could have done better but I’m happy overall with the result.

“I’ve done it a few years now [skiing four disciplines] and it is nice to see that it is working. I’m proud of myself that I can do it.”

Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head) had impressed on the first run, finishing second, but wasn’t as crisp on the second, and ended up fifth.

The next women’s Slalom is the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games on 18 February. Shiffrin will look to banish slightly miserable memories of Beijing 2022.

More records are there to be broken this season, too. Shiffrin shares the record for most Slalom wins in a season (eight in 2018/19) with Janica Kostelic (CRO) (eight in 2000/01). With two Audi FIS World Cups left, that is well within her sights.

Check out the full results from the women’s Slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn here, with the latest season standings in the race for the Slalom Crystal Globe here.

Also, do please head to Reuters Connect and Actionpress.de to view and purchase a wide selection of superb photographs like those above from this race and indeed from all FIS events.