Vlhova builds another big lead over Shiffrin in slalom

FLACHAU, Austria (AP) — Petra Vlhova built a lead of six tenths of a second over Mikaela Shiffrin in the opening run of a women’s World Cup night slalom on Tuesday, 10 days after she beat the American four-time world champion by a big margin in Zagreb.

Vlhova, who beat Shiffrin here last year, did not have a great start but the Slovakian skier was flawless in the middle and final sections on the Hermann Maier course.

Shiffrin already trailed by 0.43 seconds at the first split but the three-time overall champion nearly matched Vlhova’s pace in the steep section before losing more time on the bottom.

The race resembled the one in the Croatian capital, when Vlhova carved out an even bigger lead in the first run before extending her advantage to 1.31 in the final run.

That result ended Shiffrin’s winning streak in slaloms, which had lasted for nearly a year.

The last time that Shiffrin lost back-to-back slaloms in a single season was more than five years ago. She has a record 43 World Cup wins in the discipline.

In three races in November and December 2014, she placed 11th, fifth and fourth, respectively, and parted ways with long-term coach Roland Pfeifer shortly afterward.

All 24 World Cup slaloms since January 2017, when Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter triumphed here, have been won by either Shiffrin — with 19 — or Vlhova.

Katharina Liensberger of Austria was five hundredths behind Shiffrin in third, while Anna Swenn Larsson and Wendy Holdener were the only other racers to finish within a second of Vlhova’s time.

The race in Austria is the event with the highest prize fund on the women’s World Cup, with the winner receiving 70,000 euros ($77,900).