German skier Lena Dürr was fastest in the opening run of a women’s World Cup slalom Saturday, leading a tight group of six skiers that also included Petra Vlhová and Mikaela Shiffrin.
The six were separated by less than four-tenths of a second ahead of the second run.
Opening the race, Dürr mastered the Olympia course but lost time with a mistake on the flat finish section, preventing her from taking a bigger lead.
Petra Vlhova of Slovenia competes during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race in Are, Sweden, Saturday. March 12, 2022. (Pontus LundahlTT via AP)
“It annoys me. I saw the split times of the others and I have lost a lot of time there. The speed is gone when you make a mistake there,” Dürr said.
Vlhová, the Olympic slalom champion from Slovakia, finished 0.08 seconds behind in second, ahead of Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson.
Shiffrin placed fourth and had 0.25 second to make up on Dürr in the second run. Her American teammate Paula Moltzan was 0.65 behind in ninth.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA competes during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race in Are, Sweden, Saturday. March 12, 2022. (Pontus LundahlTT via AP)
Austria’s Katharina Liensberger and Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin completed the top six. Gisin’s teammate Wendy Holdener skipped the race, a day after crashing in a giant slalom.
Vlhová has already locked up the slalom season title but is chasing leader Shiffrin in the overall standings.
The Slovakian reduced her deficit to 77 points by winning Friday’s GS and would further narrow the gap if she finishes ahead of the American in Saturday’s race, the last event before the World Cup Finals in Méribel, France, next week.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA competes during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom race in Are, Sweden, Saturday. March 12, 2022. (Pontus LundahlTT via AP)
Dürr could become the first German winner of a women’s slalom in nearly 10 years, after Maria Höfl-Riesch triumphed in Levi in November 2012.
Dürr, who won a city event in Moscow nine years ago for her sole World Cup win so far, has three podiums in slalom this season. She led the Olympic race in Beijing after the first run but missed a medal after dropping to fourth.
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