Vlhova wins World Cup parallel slalom in Shiffrin’s absence

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Petra Vlhova took advantage of Mikaela Shiffrin taking the day off to win a World Cup parallel slalom event on Sunday.

Vlhova rallied from a slower start in the final to edge ahead of Anna Swenn Larsson by just 0.02 seconds at the line.

They had filled the podium places behind Shiffrin in a traditional slalom two weeks ago at Killington, Vermont.

The Slovakian racer’s 10th career World Cup win was the first in a season where she shapes as the biggest rival to Shiffrin winning a fourth straight overall World Cup title.

In the third-place race, Franziska Gritsch beat Meta Hrovat to take her first career podium finish.

Shiffrin won the parallel event at St. Moritz last year, but said Saturday after placing third in super-G she would rest and manage her upcoming schedule in France. A giant slalom is raced Tuesday at Courchevel and Val d’Isere stages downhill and Alpine combined races next weekend.